Dead or Alive:Dark Horse
by BountyRook
Summary: The next Dead or Alive tournament is about to take place and there's an enigma who has entered the tournament and caught the interest of everyone including the ninjas and DOATEC.
1. Character Profile

**Dead or Alive- Dark Horse**

**Disclaimer: I do not own the Dead or Alive series but I wish I did..AS IF! Either way the only thing I own is my OC.**

**Character File**

Name: Neon "Grim" Cross

Age: 23

Ht: 6'1

Wt: 206lbs

Blood Type: O

Nationality: Netherlands

Personality: Calm, calculating, explosive, nonchalant, quiet, sometimes blood thirsty

Appearance: White hair tied in a ponytail, brown skin, left eye green &amp; right eye red, medium athletic frame with little fat, black eagle tattoo on his upper back.

Fighting Style: Freestyle (Muay Boran, Street Fighting &amp; Bushinryu Ninpo)

Occupation: Drifter/Mercenary

Stats:-

Striking: 5/5

Power: 4/5

Technique: 3/5

Speed: 4/5

Throws: 3/5

Holds: 2/5


	2. The Dark Horse

**Dead or Alive - Dark Horse**

**Disclaimer: I do not own the Dead or Alive series but I wish I did. AS IF! Either way the only thing I own is my OC.**

**Author Notes: The story is set during DOA 4 and is mainly from my OC's perspective.**

**The Dark Horse**

* * *

Point A to Point B. That's how it's been for him. Neon "Grim" Cross, nicknamed "The Drifting Mercenary" by many or "Grim Eagle", once again drifted from one place to another. This time his trip was from London, England to Tokyo, Japan. He doesn't make a big deal about it because he's used to travelling as it's been a hobby of his for a while and also due to his chaotic lifestyle. Not only does he drift from place to place, he also takes odd jobs to keep a steady income and livelihood.

Now in Japan with no idea of what he plans to do, he decides to just be natural and go with the flow, letting the drift take him wherever. Unknown to this Dutch-Japanese he's about to find himself in something that'll change his life big time.

**At a port in Tokyo, 13:37 hrs.**

"Here I am again in the same situation I always end up in." Neon sighed, "No wonder why my parents were always stressing the importance of planning ahead, although in all honesty I see no point in it since life always deal a different hand to you every time."

Neon Cross looked around the port he was in. There were a lot of cruise ships at dock with lots of people getting ready to go and have fun at sea and also some cargo liners ready to export or import goods. Once again it seemed that he'd drifted here from the city out of boredom.

"But then again I can also see their point." Neon sighed again, "Maybe I should plan for when I end up in places like this so that I don't end up looking lost. Or frustrated. AAAGGGHHH!" He was clearly frustrated at his current situation.

He just walked around the port looking for something, anything to catch his interest and get him out of his boredom. And he was finding nothing.

'DAMN IT! I really need something to deal with my boredom right now.' Neon thought. He was clearly about to lose it! "I really need to get involved in something that is out of this world."

As if someone was listening to his request a poster showed up in his vision and caught his attention right away.

"Dead or Alive 4 Tournament?" Neon read out loud before smirking, "This may be the fix that I'm looking for. One problem... I don't have an invite..." His face fell at that realization but he quickly recovered.

"No matter, I don't need an invite to join. I'll just crash the party instead." He said, "It also seems like the cruise ship to take the competitors to the tournament is in this dock."

A mischievous grin came on Neon's face. It looks like he won't be bored anymore. So he went off to look for the ship. He used his street smarts and his sharp eyes to locate the ship that was going to transport the DOA competitors was and he soon found the cruise ship with the DOATEC logo on it.

"So that's the ship. And DOATEC... why do I get a feeling that I have seen that name before from somewhere?" Neon stood on the spot trying to recall something. "No point stressing myself out over it. Now to find a way to get in since I don't have an invite. And looks like there's security at the ship."

Neon saw two men at the ship who were in all black and white. They were checking some people who seemed to be the individuals who were invited to take part and watch. He looked around for a minute and an idea came into his head.

"Looks like I have found a way in." he said to himself with a huge grin on his face.

* * *

**14:19 hrs. Inside the DOA cruise ship, Freedom Survivor **

Neon was now on board the cruise ship after using a bit of parkour and stealth to make his way in. With his backpack slung over his shoulders he made his way inside the ship looking for the guest quarters to put his stuff down before exploring the rest of ship. He decided to check the map to see where those rooms were. As he was looking he heard someone lightly cough behind to get his attention and so he looked over his shoulder to see a man in all black and white like the ones on the entrance to the ship. Neon thought he'd been found out already and he was already prepared to knock this guy out, but that didn't seem to be the case.

"You are participating in the tournament right?" The man in black and white asked.

"Yeah." Neon lied, "Just looking for my room."

"I could escort you to your quarters if you don't mind." The man offered.

Neon nodded, "Sure. Lead the way."

Neon's escort led him to his room which was quite extravagant. It was spacious with a living room and a dining room with amenities, a bedroom with a king size bed, and adequately equipped bathroom. After thanking his escort, Neon entered the bedroom, dropped his stuff on the bed and fell on it. He was finally on a proper bed for once and not haystacks, car seats or just the cold floor.

"Time to catch some Zs...finally." Neon said before letting sleep come over him.

**16:18 hrs. Pool deck**

Neon was relaxing in the sun after swimming in the pool. He had his camo swimming trunks on, his shoulder length white hair was partially dry and blue sunglasses on. He noticed had gotten the attention of some of the people who were also at the swimming pool, especially a select few.

The first one was a young brunette who was intrigued by his medium athletic body which had a lot of scars on them and the cool and calm aura around him which made him someone she thought she could approach.

The second one was petite orange haired woman who looked at him with worry as she saw a man who has experienced so much pain and suffering and hiding a lot of anger just waiting to be unleashed. A lost soul trying to find solitude or maybe death.

Third was a woman who also had white hair like Neon but shorter. What caught her attention was his different colored eyes, the eyes of a cold blooded killer, a professional in his field. A man she had to be extra careful around.

Fourth was the lavender haired who just stared daggers at Neon, as if he had offended her in some way. She was very suspicious of him and felt that he was very dangerous and had to be watched carefully.

Even with his eyes closed Neon knew that he was being observed and he did not like it one bit!

'I don't need this! I'd prefer them to just come and tell me what's on their minds already! Unless they have an ulterior motive...' Neon sighed while he tried to ignore them and only be aware of everything else around him. Soon enough he heard footsteps coming his way. Opening an eye he spotted the young brunette walking towards him before he closed it. He finally sensed her standing over him and braced himself for whatever she wanted to throw his way.

"Hello there." The girl asked.

"Hello to you too young lady." Neon replied not seeing her blush. He then decided to have a little fun. "Like what you see?" Neon didn't need his eyes open to know that the girl's cheeks were now crimson red. He then added to the fire. "You can look but no touching."

"W-W-What are you talking about?" The girl asked in embarrassment.

"Hahaha! Relax. I'm just playing with you." Neon joked.

The girl managed to pull herself together and introduced herself. "By the way my name is Hitomi. What's yours?"

"Neon Cross. Why do you ask?"

"Are you fighting in the Dead or Alive Tournament?"

"You can say that. Let me guess the same applies to you?"

"Yes it does. You'll be in the preliminaries though and it's got some tough competition."

"Leave that to me to bother about."

Neon opened his eyes and looked at Hitomi who was now sitting in a chair next to him, while ignoring her polka dot bikini.

'Height: 5'3", Weight: I don't care for that, Age: 18, slender athletic build, blue eyes, shoulder length brunette hair, has a Western look to her though there's also a bit of Eastern too, definitely someone who keeps fit based on her figure. Energetic, friendly and quite skilled in the martial arts.'

One of the few skills Neon picked up during his drifting escapades was figuring out people at just a glance through their features, personality, habits and so on. This has helped him when dealing with clients he deals with or random strangers he meets and decipher if they are friend, foe or 'neutrals'. Neon could tell that Hitomi was a good person but he will still keep his guard up anyways.

Hitomi had noticed Neon looking at her from head to toe and smirked as she decided to get some payback.

"Keep that up Neon-san and I'll think you are a pervert."

"Nice try Hitomi but I just wanted to see who I was talking to." Neon said, seeing through her attempt to tease him, "Though I'll admit that you're cute."

And the brunette ended up red in the face again.

"Anyways..." Neon continued, "...I take it that you didn't come here for teasing, right?"

Hitomi managed to get herself under control again and answered, "Oh right! I came to ask you if you'd like to spar with me. I can already tell that you're a good fighter when I first saw you and besides this could help you to prepare for the preliminaries."

Neon pondered her offer for less than a minute. A sparring session with someone who participated in the last tournament wasn't a bad idea. "Okay I'll take you up on that offer."

"Great. I'll see at the gym in 15 minutes." Hitomi said before getting up and leaving.

Neon sat up from his chair and looked at the top of the ship. During his conversation with Hitomi he felt the presence of two other people and one of them had a hostile aura around them. He got up and took his towel and proceeded to go back to his room to change while getting a glimpse of the other people who had observed him as he talked to Hitomi.

'Seriously they should quit the staring and tell me what's on their minds. At least Hitomi had guts.'

* * *

**16:40 hrs. Freedom Survivor Gym.**

Neon was now in the gym wearing a white t-shirt with an eagle design on the front and back, black and orange trunks and his hands and feet in wrappings. He was waiting for Hitomi to show up for their sparring session and he wasn't the only one in the gym.

There was a guy who was shadow boxing. An African-American. He was bald, wearing black shades over his eyes, Muay Thai trunks, his hands and feet in wrappings too. Obviously a Muay Thai fighter.

'Though he's more of a party animal than a fighter.' Neon thought.

Next he saw a young teen who seemed to be around 16-17 with short blonde hair and blue eyes. He was wearing a red and yellow hoodie, blue jeans and black sneakers. He was practicing his martial arts moves, Neon was impressed by his sharp moves and he knew that he was most likely competing in the tournament. 'Kid's got skills. Though I wonder what martial art style he's using. It looks like a mix Ba Ji Quan and Kung Fu.'

Neon then noticed a guy who was in his early 20s with spiky brown hair and brown eyes, only wearing a pair of black pants with a golden dragon on the sides punching and kicking the air. 'What do you know? A Jeet Kune Do fighter. No doubt inspired by the great Bruce Lee. Definitely someone that'll give me a challenge.'

"Hey! You're here." said a familiar female voice.

"You asked me to spar with you and I accepted. So here I am." Neon answered as he turned to face Hitomi. She was wearing a black crop top with pink hems and yellow eagle motif, stonewash jeans, brown boots, and red-and-black protective gloves and elbow guards

"Well then. Now that you're here..." Hitomi said as she got into her fighting stance, "Let's see what you got."

'Karate huh? This should be good.' Neon thought with amusement as he got into a southpaw fighting stance with his hands low and bouncing on his toes.

By now the other three people in the room had stopped what they were doing and were watching with interest at the match that is about to be unfold.

Neon and Hitomi moved around each other, briefly looking for an opening to exploit. Then Neon started things off, lunging in with a left cross. Hitomi blocked that attack but still took a vicious leg kick on her lead leg. She stepped away from the follow-up leg kick that was coming after and then found herself on the defensive from a barrage of punches from Neon at different levels before ending with another leg kick to her lead leg again.

Hitomi stepped back after that to quickly gauge what happened earlier while Neon just stood there in his fighting stance waiting for her.

'Based on the barrage of strikes that he threw, Neon is was a Muay Thai fighter like Zack but those attacks were much more savage and powerful like a brawler but with pinpoint precision as some of those attacks were aimed at my liver and temple.' Hitomi thought.

She was then brought out of her thoughts as she quickly dodged a double flying knee from Neon and one of those knees were aimed at her temple again.

Hitomi began her own offence launching a four-punch combo which Neon avoided with precise head movement before retaliating with a right undercut that caught her off guard barely blocking it but still managed to evade the overhand left but not the lunging leg kick on her lead leg that followed. Shrugging off the pain in her leg she fired back with her own multi-level combo ending with a jump kick which Neon managed to defend against. Hitomi launched a kick to the body which Neon caught and kicked her other leg from under her dropping her on her back.

He motioned with his hand telling his opponent 'stand up' with a straight face. Hitomi kicked up to her feet and rushed at him with a flurry of punches which Neon parried against with elbow blocks before countering with hooks. Hitomi responded in kind with her own parries and hit Neon with a straight right down the middle which snapped his head back, making him step back. He recovered in time to hop over a sweep kick and countered with superman punch while landing which Hitomi rolled away from.

Both got into their stances and rushed at each other with flurries of strikes that all missed their intended targets. Neon and Hitomi then threw a spinning back kick and spinning wheel kick which blocked each other's attack. Hitomi then threw another high kick which Neon caught and dropped her with a spinning back elbow.

Neon stepped back and watched as Hitomi managed to get up. She was surprised that he barely broke a sweat while she was a little exhausted. She brought her hand forward for a handshake which Neon accepted.

"You're pretty good." Hitomi said with excitement, "I have a feeling that you're going to easily make it past the preliminaries."

"You're not bad yourself Hitomi. You're a lot better than most karate fighters I've fought." Neon replied.

The Jeet Kune Do practitioner had walked up to them as they were talking and caught Neon's attention. "Neon." he said.

"Yeah, that's me. You want something?" Neon asked.

"Hello Jann Lee. What do you think of Neon?" Hitomi asked.

Jann Lee suddenly threw a punch at Neon which was easily caught.

"Isn't it a little too early to start a fight with me?" Neon smirked, "If you want a shot at me then wait for the tournament to begin." He then released Lee's hand.

Jann Lee looked at Neon from head to toe with a smirk on his face before leaving the gym.

"So that guy's Jann Lee. Interesting fellow." Neon said.

"Looks like you've gotten his attention." Hitomi said, "He must see you as a worthy opponent."

"Is that so? Then the feeling's mutual." Neon stretched. "Thanks for the sparring session Hitomi. I'm now much more excited to fight in the DOA tournament. See ya!"

* * *

**18:00 hrs. The Main Hall**

Neon was walking down the hallway in a white short-sleeved bodysuit, with fish-net shirt underneath, white shorts and white fingerless gloves. He had heard the announcement for all the fighters competing in the prelim to show up at the main hall and he was wondering what the rest of the competition was like before he reached his destination.

The main hall was the largest part of the ship. There was a large ring in the middle while the rest of the room was full of people all waiting for the preliminaries. Many of the people were itching and excited to see who were going to make it to the next round of the tournament.

Neon was not surprised at the large crowd that was in the hall and he wasn't surprised at the number of competitors around him. However, he was not impressed by the competition around him.

'Most of these guys aren't worth my time, except very few of them. Time to weed out the weaklings.'

Finally the captain of the ship entered the room. He walked to the center of the ring with a microphone in his hand.

"Ladies and gentlemen! Welcome to the preliminaries of the fourth Dead or Alive tournament. We have a lot of competitors for this year's event and we have randomly selected the opponents already with our high-tech computers. Now without further delay let's do this!"

The crowd went wild, cheering loudly as the computer displayed the match ups for the prelim. Neon blocked out the noise as he looked on with an emotionless face, just wanting to get this done already.

'I'm so gonna be bored out my mind! Might as well just spare myself the headache and make it quick.'

For the next three hours the ring was a brutal war zone filled with only unhindered rage and pure determination to win and advance to the next round. One by one they all dropped, man and woman, unconscious and bloody messes. The most jaw dropping sight for the crowd was the white-haired, brown-skinned man, with green and red eyes, medium athletic frame who was blitzing through his opponents with terrifying ferocity. All of his fights ended by either one punch or one kick knockouts, brutal one-sided beat downs or crippling leg kick finishes. His unfortunate victims had to be taking out on stretchers and given immediate medical attention.

Some of the more well-known DOA fighters were just as surprised as the crowd while the others weren't fazed by the displays.

Hitomi already knew how strong and skilled Neon was after sparring with him earlier but never expected him to be this brutal. Jann Lee had focused his attention on Neon after seeing his one-sided beat downs, he was impressed by his fighting ability. Zack was in awe of Neon's Muay Thai skills. Kasumi was horrified at his brutal displays of power when he finished some opponents by one hit knockouts and bloodthirsty ferocity in his one-sided beat downs. Christie was very happy with the way Neon picked some of his opponents apart with precision and left them crippled, bloodied and in agony.

The other veterans had their own reactions which were either awe, disinterest or none at all.

The fighting was finally over with some of the crowd cheering tremendously for the winners while some were cursing and moaning because they lost their bets. Out of forty fighters that were in the preliminaries only four stood in the middle of the ring. One of them obviously Neon. There was also the young man he had seen in the gym earlier and the other two were women.

One seemed to be 17 yrs. old. She had black waist-length hair and blue eyes, she was wearing a Changsha styled outfit, two gold wristbands with dangling white balls and white shoes.

The other woman looked to be in her early 20s. She was slim, dark-skinned with a slender athletic body, brown eyes and short brown hair. She was wearing a white decorative unitard with knee-high boots, various arm accessories like a butterfly mask with cap.

The crowd cheered loudly again as the captain went on to introduce the contestants that would move on to the next round of the tournament. One of the women introduced herself as Kokoro and a practitioner of Ba Ji Quan and the other one called herself La Mariposa and a luchador. The young man beside Neon introduced himself as Eliot and a practitioner of Xing Yi Quan which Neon had never heard of, when the microphone got to him Neon made his introduction brief and called himself a Freestyle fighter.

'So he decided to reveal very little about himself. Smart move but also makes him very suspicious.' Christie thought.

Jann Lee didn't seem to care about Neon's introduction.

"Okay then... Well there you have it these four fighters are moving on to the next round let's give them a big round of applause again!"

The crowd cheered once again.

Up on the roof of the ship were three shadowy figure that had watched everything through the crystal ceiling of the room.

"That man is a monster." A female voice said.

"Indeed, he is ruthless but very skilled. What do you think of him Hayate?" A male voice said.

"He is an enigma and someone we should keep an eye on." Hayate answered, "Don't you think so Ryu?"

"True he revealed very little of himself. We don't know whether he's a friend or foe." Ryu replied, "Ayane, can you keep an eye on him?"

"Yes I can Master Ryu. I'll see what I can dig up about him and let you know." Ayane answered, 'And kill Kasumi when I find her.'

"Let's go." Hayate said.

The three ninjas nodded and vanished. Unknown to them Neon had sensed their presence back at the main hall, smiling on the inside.

'Looks like this tournament's become a lot more interesting. This will be entertaining.'

* * *

**Chapter 1 end.**


	3. Welcome to DOA 4

**Dead or Alive- Dark Horse**

**Disclaimer: I do not own the Dead or Alive series, the only thing I own is my OC.**

**Welcome to DOA 4**

* * *

**20:00 hrs Hong Kong, China**

Neon was in one of Victor Donovan's escort limos, taking him and two other people to Donovan's mansion. Neon was also informed that Donovan was the current boss of DOATEC, the company that was hosting the tournament and also that the other fighters were going to be at the mansion too.

Inside the limo with Neon were Hitomi whom he had already met on the cruise ship earlier and was trying to chat with him and Ayane, the lavender-haired girl who has been glaring at him since the limo ride began and it was pissing him off.

Neon was wearing a white trench coat, an orange shirt underneath, black pants and black shoes. Hitomi was wearing a light blue dress reaching her ankles with a matching pair of high heels. Ayane was wearing a light lavender dress with matching gloves and high heels.

"C'mon Neon. Why are you ignoring me? I'm just trying to have a friendly chat here." Hitomi pouted.

"And for the 40th time I'm not interested in talking right now." Neon calmly replied.

"Why?!"

"I have some stuff on my mind right now so now's not a good time to talk. Maybe later."

"Okay..." Hitomi finally surrendered and left Neon to his thinking while Ayane still continues to stare daggers at him. And he was getting sick of it!

"Hey you there. You've been staring daggers at me ever since the limo ride began." Neon complained, "If you have something to say then say it to my face."

"I don't like you so deal with it." Ayane snapped.

"What a coincidence. The feeling's mutual." Neon replied.

"Whoa! Whoa! No need for the hostilities now. We're here for the welcoming party and then we'll get to know who's fighting who. So save it for the tournament!" Hitomi shouted.

"And I'll be more than happy to welcome you with a pounding." Ayane remarked.

"Good to know and I'll be glad to send you packing in a body bag." Neon returned.

"Okay! Okay! That's enough you two!" The limo driver said, " We're about to arrive at the mansion and like the young lady said save your hostility for the tournament."

Neon and Ayane went silent after that while Hitomi sighed in relief.

They finally arrived at Donovan's huge mansion that was a good mix of European and Chinese culture. The driver opened the door and Neon stormed out of it into the mansion with Hitomi following close behind.

"What's your problem Neon?"

"Nothing. Just wanna be as far as possible from the CRANKY BITCH NAMED AYANE!"

"I HEARD THAT!"

"I KNOW! THAT'S EXACTLY WHAT I WANTED!"

Neon increased his pace ignoring the butler as he made his way to the main hall. When he arrived he saw the group of people he easily recognized as the other fighters in the DOA 4 tournament. He also looked at the impressive interior and designs of the mansion.

"Okay... Someone was way too much money on their hands." Neon said.

"If you mean blood money then yes you are correct." came from a female voice.

Neon turned his head to his right to see a very beautiful 5'7" tall woman with blue eyes, blonde hair that reached past waist-level and rosy-colored skin. She was wearing a pale blue party dress with a matching bow behind her waist.

"Based on your reply I'd say that you know and hate Victor Donovan." Neon said.

"Very correct. You have no idea how much I hate him."

"I actually get the picture. By the way the name's Neon Cross, what's yours beautiful lady?"

"It's Helena."

"Helena... as in Helena Douglas?"

"So you've heard of me." The woman named Helena said.

"Yep. I've seen you in newspapers and some opera houses. Still singing?" Neon replied.

"No. At least for now. By the way Neon, have we met before?"

That question caught Neon off guard for a second but didn't show it to Helena.

"This is the first time we've met Helena so I don't even know why you're asking that." Neon answered.

"Oh. My mistake." Helena apologized, "Anyways I'm pleased to meet you Neon Cross." Helena said.

Neon gave a small smile "Likewise Helena. See you around."

Neon left Helena and went to the bar, taking a seat on a stool.

"Sorry for keeping you all waiting!"

Everyone in the main hall turned to see a man in his early forties wearing a white suit.

"On behalf of Master Donovan I welcome you all to his mansion, unfortunately he can't come to greet you all personally since he's a very busy man."

_'Quite the crappy host if you ask me.' _Neon thought.

"Anyways you are all welcome to the welcome party. There are refreshments, music and a lot of entertainment and we'll also be announcing the match-ups for the second round of the the tournament so please have fun."

Neon smirked as he said, "Might as well enjoy myself before the big announcement."

The bartender came up behind the counter and asked "What would you sir?"

"Club soda. Iced with lemon."

"I'll like what he's having too." A female voice added.

"Right on it." The bartender said before getting to work.

Neon turned to his left to see the 5'10" white-haired woman he saw earlier at the cruise ship, one he instantly did not want to be around and she was wearing a short black cocktail dress with matching shoes and a pendent around her neck.

"What do you want assassin?" Neon asked in disgust.

"So you know what I do for a living." Christie said, "And it took you one attempt to do so."

"I could tell. Your eyes, body language and behavior. They all spell the professional assassin." Neon said, "What do you want from me? And don't worry I won't ask who your target is."

"Well you caught my attention at the cruise ship and made me even more curious during the prelim." Christie replied sultrily, "You have the eyes of a killer and an efficient one at that."

"Why are you telling me this?"

"Because I'm curious. It takes one to know one after all."

"Yeah. AND...I should give a shit?"

"Here are you drinks sir and madame. Enjoy." the bartender said as he gave the two their glasses of club soda.

"Well you should care and watch your back too or you might end up somewhere dead." Christie continued.

"You should listen to your own advice." Neon said, "Because I can put you six feet under too if you mess with me. Like I could have a few seconds ago."

Christie was surprised by that statement as she felt a gun close to her stomach. She looked down to see a Glock 17 pressed on her stomach before Neon quickly holstered the pistol while glaring at her.

"I don't give a damn about why you're in the tournament and I won't get in your way but if you mess with me again you're dead." Neon warned as quickly finished his drink, "I'll only say that once." Then he left Christie behind at the bar.

Christie only smiled as she looked over her shoulder at Neon as he went to the ball room. 'He's definitely a dangerous one and very perceptive too. He may even know that I'm after Helena. But he'd better think again about threatening me.'

Neon made his way to the ballroom where everyone was dancing to the techno music that was playing. He also spotted the party animal he saw from the cruise ship doing his work as the DJ. He didn't care much for him as he made his way to a chair and sat down while blocking out the noise around him as he thought about his conversation with Christie.

'She is right about one thing. It takes one to know one. While she does what she does for the money I only did it for self defense or as a last resort.' Neon thought, 'Either way as long as no one knows about my past I'll be able to just go on with my business.'

"Howdy there!"

"Huh?!" Neon said in confusion after being brought out of his thoughts. The woman he was looking at was someone he recognized on TV: Tina Armstrong. Blonde hair, 5'9'' tall, sapphire blue eyes, very voluptuous woman who was wearing a blue crop top, red waist jacket, white miniskirt, and brown boots.

"Sorry was I bothering you?" Tina asked.

"Nope. I was just thinking about stuff." Neon answered, "Tina Armstrong right? The women's wrestling champ, supermodel and actress?"

"Yes I am that famous and I also plan on being a rock star too."

"Really. Quite the ambitious one aren't you?"

"Yes I have my dreams and I will do everything I can to accomplish them."

"That's good for you Tina."

Tina giggled making Neon sweat drop.

"You sure are a sociable person." Tina said.

"Not exactly Tina." Neon corrected, "I'm just polite. That's all."

"Sure you are. You wanna dance?"

"Don't know...Never danced before."

"Really!?"

"Really."

Tina grabbed Neon by the hand and dragged him to the dance floor. He was impressed by the American's strength.

"Well I'll teach you. C'mon, it's not that hard to dance you know." Tina said, "Just let yourself get lost in the rhythm."

"Easier said than done." Neon sighed. However he found out that she was right after all. And she was impressed by his dancing and they both had fun as they went along with the music getting many people's attention including a certain huge man that didn't like what he saw. Neon spotted him approaching and he stopped surprising Tina.

"Why did you stop?" she asked.

"Trouble coming this way." Neon answered. Tina turned to where Neon was looking and spotted the last person she wanted to see approaching them.

"I'm sorry Neon looks like our dance is over because of a certain overprotective person." Tina said as she glared at her father.

'So Bass Armstrong's her father. Oh boy.'Neon sighed knowing what was coming.

"I am not some person. I am your father! And there is no way in hell that I'm letting you dance with this punk." Bass said while glaring at Neon.

"Ever looked in a mirror lately old man?" Neon fired back, "Look at yourself before you go around running your big mouth."

"WHAT DID YOU SAY PUNK!?"

"Are you freaking deaf!? Have you lost your hearing as much as your common sense?" Neon continued, "Not surprising since you're an old man now."

A haymaker from Bass came at his face only for Neon to easily dodge the wild attack by Bass and trip the 6'5'' tall and large framed man causing him to face plant with a huge thud on the floor.

"By the way Bass don't go around picking fights with every guy that talks to your daughter. She's old enough to handle herself!" Neon shouted before looking at a wide eyed Tina, "I'm sorry about that Tina." He then left the ballroom ignoring the eyes of everyone in the room.

After walking around aimlessly for a while Neon found himself in the garden. He was still upset that he drew so much attention to himself and was cursing himself for how he dealt with Tina's overprotective father. He made his way to a bench he saw near the fountain at the center of the garden and sat down hoping to clear his head.

The cool air was doing its job of helping Neon relax and was starting to forget the commotion that occurred earlier that is until he sensed someone's presence in the garden.

He draws his Glock 17 out and points it behind. "I know you're here. Come out already."

Then he smells cherry blossoms in front of him and points his weapon in that direction only to see an orange-haired lady wearing a pink sleeveless sweater and denim skirt with white high heel boots and a scarf around her neck with her weapon, a wakizashi, at his throat while his weapon's pointed at her forehead. Both stare at each other during this surprising standoff before Neon sighs in frustration.

"This is pointless. Are you here to kill me or to talk?" he asks.

"That's up to you though I'd prefer to talk." the lady answers.

"Alright then put your wakizashi away while I put my gun away then we'll talk."

Both of them put their weapons away then the lady sat down beside him on the bench.

"Who are you...ninja?" Neon cautiously asked.

"I am Kasumi and I know who you are...Neon "Grim" Cross, 42nd Master of the Bushinryu Ninpo." Kasumi answered.

"So you managed to uncover one of my secrets. Congrats." Neon deadpanned.

"Why are you in the Dead or Alive 4 tournament?" Kasumi asked.

"That's my own business and none of yours." Neon replied.

"A lost soul like you shouldn't be here. You'll only add to your torment."

"What the hell are you talking about?!"

"I could see it in your eyes. You've experienced so much pain and suffering and you're stuck in eternal torment dealing with your inner demons."

"Is that why you were so horrified of me at the pool and during the prelim?"

Kasumi went silent. Neon glared at her, sick of the silent treatment. "Answer me Kasumi."

"If you fight in the tournament you'll only bring harm to yourself Neon." Kasumi lamented, "You don't have to go through with it."

"I've heard enough." Neon got up from the bench and began to leave the garden to go back to the party.

"You are right about one thing. I am a guy with problems but I'm looking to put my past behind me and exorcise my inner demons. How? That's my business and if the answer I seek is in this tournament then I'll make sure I get it."

That was his last statement before he vanished into the shadows leaving Kasumi behind.

'Neon... It'll be so much better if you didn't sneak into the ship to begin with.' Kasumi thought before she vanished into the wind leaving sakura petals.

* * *

**The next day 12:15 hrs Tokyo, Japan.**

In the DOA dome the competitors were present at the center. Those newcomers who made it through the prelim: Neon Cross, Eliot, Kokoro and La Mariposa. The returning fighters: Tina Armstrong, Zack, Brad Wong, Bass Armstrong, Bayman, Hitomi, Lei Fang, Jann Lee, Christie, Leon and Helena Douglas. And the ninjas: Kasumi, Ayane, Hayate and Ryu Hayabusa.

Neon didn't really care too much for his fellow competitors since he didn't come to make friends to begin with, but to deal with his boredom and the fourth Dead or Alive tournament seemed to be 'just what the doctor ordered'. He hadn't been in a good fight in years.

He had blocked out the noise in the arena from the fans and only waited to see who his first opponent was going to be while ignoring the gazes, glares or looks from either the spectators or the other fighters. He already knew the rules of the tournament so he didn't bother to listen to the announcer when he was mentioning the rules. Then the main screen above them finally came on and showed the match-ups:

**Neon "Grim" Cross vs. Brad Wong**

That was the only thing he needed to know. He could care less for the other match-ups it's was just him and his foe that he wanted. Nothing else.

His match was going to to held tomorrow at the noon at Tokyo park.

'So it begins. Well then let's see how it goes.'

* * *

**Chapter 2 End.**


	4. The Grim Eagle vs The Drunken Fighter

**Dead or Alive- Dark Horse**

**Disclaimer: I do not own the Dead or Alive series, the only thing I own is my OC.**

**The Grim Eagle vs The Drunken Fighter**

* * *

**08:30 hrs, Tokyo Japan**

Neon was out jogging in his orange sweat shirt and pants, and black sneakers. The DOA 4 tournament has begun and his fight was up first and it was going to begin at 12:30 pm in the afternoon at the DWA Coliseum. His opponent was Brad Wong, a man who was mostly drunk like he saw at the welcoming party yesterday.

'I hope he is sober when we fight because I don't want an easy fight with a drunken opponent.' Neon thought.

After jogging down four blocks he decided to go into the coffee shop that was down the next block for a break. He arrived, ordered a caramel mocha with whipped cream and sat down in the corner table to enjoy his coffee and think about his conversation with Kasumi two days ago.

_'I could see it in your eyes. You've experienced so much pain and suffering and you're stuck in eternal torment dealing with your inner demons.'_

_'If you fight in the tournament you'll only bring harm to yourself Neon... You don't have to go through with it.'_

Neon just sighed. He did not get why Kasumi had come to him just to tell him all that. Also how did she know that he had been through hell and was trying to move on and why was she so concerned about him?!

He was interrupted from his thoughts by someone familiar calling his name. He looked up to see Hitomi standing in front of his table with her hands on her hip. She was wearing a denim jacket, a white top, blue jeans and black shoes. Neon sighed as he had an idea what was coming next.

"Good morning to you Hitomi." Neon greeted.

"Morning to you too Neon-san. I see that you went out jogging." Hitomi said.

"Yes I did and now I'm relaxing."

"Can I join you?"

"Sure, go ahead."

"Thanks."

Hitomi took out a chair and sat opposite Neon with her decaf coffee.

"So what's up Hitomi?" Neon asked.

"It's about your match today." Hitomi answered.

"You mean against that drunkard Brad Wong? What about it?"

"He may be aloof and drunk a lot of times but don't underestimate him." Hitomi warned.

"The fact that he's in this tournament means that he's at least good." Neon stated, "However his drunkenness pisses me off and makes me think that he doesn't take things seriously."

"He's a Zui Quan practitioner which is the same as drunken fist." Hitomi said, "He may look like a drunkard but he's still dangerous."

"Why are you telling me this Hitomi?"

"Well I have a feeling that you wouldn't take him seriously."

"Is that right? Well I don't joke around with anyone when I fight and I never underestimate my opponents. I always approach every fight like it's my last."

"Why? Is that how you approach a fight?" Hitomi asked concerned.

"Yes it is. I don't hold back and I go hard without any regrets no matter the outcome." Neon replied.

"That seems like a dangerous and destructive way to fight." Hitomi said.

"No need to worry yourself Hitomi. I can hold my own even against the ninjas in this tournament."

"Really?! Even Kasumi, Ayane, Ryu Hayabusa and... Hayate?"

"Yeah. I'm hoping they don't see me as an easy opponent or they'll be kissing the floor."

"Oh... Okay."

Neon drank a bit of his coffee then looked at Hitomi straight in the eyes causing her to feel a chill going up her spine. He spotted that and went on to assure her.

"No need to be scared of me, this ain't an interrogation. Tell me about yourself."

"Me. Well I'm 18 and I'm from Germany. My dad's German while my mom's Japanese."

"That explains why you seems more European than Asian when I look at you."

"I know. People have told me that too... anyways I'm in high school and I learnt Karate from my father who's a karate master who owns his own dojo where we live and train too."

"Ah! I see."

"One of my hobbies is cooking and I'm also a very good cook."

"Really? Maybe I'll have a taste of that good cooking after my match."

"No problem. What do you want me to cook for you?"

"Surprise me with something good."

"That's pretty vague."

"Well I like to try new things including food from other countries."

"Okay I'll whip something surprising for you."

"I'll hold you to that."

The two laughed at their exchange. Neon was having a good time apart from when he was in a fight. It made him feel good on the inside to have fun with someone for once in a very long time.

"Why are you in the tournament Hitomi?" Neon asked again. Hitomi's smile vanished the moment he asked making Neon feel bad. "Sorry did I say something I shouldn't have?"

"No, you didn't." Hitomi answered, "My father suddenly fell ill and our dojo came under financial disarray because of it. So I'm in it to win the cash prize to get it back on top and pay for father's treatment."

"Oh... sorry about that Hitomi."

"No worries. Thanks for your concern though."

"You're welcome. But if you want to win the prize money don't you think you'll have to beat me too for that." Neon pointed at himself.

"I know and I'll do my best to beat you." Hitomi said with vigor.

"Hahaha! That I'll like to see. That is if you succeed at beating me." Neon replied.

"Well forget about me how about we talk about you?"

Neon went silent at that. His life story was one that he'd prefer to not talk about.

"About that..." he said, "My story is one that I'd rather not talk about." Then he got up, finished his coffee and went off to the dump the cup in the trash bin. "I'm sorry about this." he said before he left the coffee store leaving Hitomi dumbfounded.

"That seemed to have struck a nerve. Maybe I shouldn't have asked." Hitomi said as she finished her coffee and tried to catch up with Neon but lost him.

Neon was walking down the street back to the hotel he was staying in for the tournament. Along the way he noticed that he was being followed, three of them he sensed.

'Trouble huh? Well then, time to get rid of those three.'

He found an alleyway which was wasn't too narrow but enough for him to go in.

The three individuals who were following Neon entered the alley expecting to see the man they were following in it but instead found no one.

"Check it out. He must be hiding somewhere in here." The leader of the three mentioned. The other two ahead of him nodded at him before they all drew out their weapons, a SPAS-12 shotgun, an Uzi and a silenced USP .45 and they went deeper into the alley looking for their target. Unknown to them a shadow was above the leader in a half-split between the walls of the alley observing them. The shadow then decided to make its move.

It dropped down on the leader driving a switch blade into his skull while landing on him. When the other two turned around the check what was going on they instantly had bullets to their heads courtesy of their attacker's Glock 17. He then searched their bodies.

'Bounty hunters. So they managed to track me down here. Though I didn't think it would be this soon.'Neon thought after seeing their IDs, 'Whatever. It's their losses for sending them after me after I warned them to leave me alone.'

After taking their IDs and money he put something on each of the bodies and left the alley. When he was far enough he pressed took out a small object and pressed a button on it and three explosions followed immediately with screaming and footsteps going towards and away from where it occurred.

"That'll take care of those bodies." Neon said as he disposed of what seemed to be the detonator, "And also give those four something to ponder about." He then jogged all the way back to the hotel.

On a building across the street from the alley, Ayane, Hayate and Ryu had watched Neon take out the three men that were tailing him and his disposal of the bodies giving them something to think about.

"That was cold, brutal and efficient." Ryu spoke up.

"True but the disposal of the bodies was crude and not subtle." Ayane scoffed.

"He wasn't intent on being subtle with that." Hayate corrected, "And he also wanted us to see it as he knew that we were watching."

"Ayane, what have you found out about him so far?" Ryu asked.

"Not much so far. All I could get was that he's a drifter and a loner too although he's been friendly with Hitomi." Ayane said.

Hayate had a scowl on his face. He didn't like the fact that Hitomi was hanging around the dangerous enigma that they just observed taking out three people quickly and efficiently and then blowing their remains up to leave no trace.

"Hayate? Is something wrong?" Ryu asked his friend.

"That man is a dangerous one and the fact that he's still an enigma makes it even more troublesome." Hayate stressed, "Ayane, keep digging up what you can about him. We need to be sure of who is before we deal with Donovan and DOATEC."

"Yes, Hayate." Ayane said before she vanished.

"We should be going too." Ryu said.

"I know Ryu." Hayate answered as they both disappeared too.

Further away from the alley on top of another building, Kasumi stood there after she had to get away from the alley before the explosions. She had followed Neon ever since he left the hotel he was staying in for a jog and also witnessed his execution of the three bounty hunters that had been trailing him since he left the coffee shop and his explosive disposal of the evidence. She was now more worried about the white-haired, dark-skinned different colored eyed dutch man.

'I knew this was going to happen and it looks like it's going to get worse as the tournament goes on.'Kasumi thought, 'Neon... please don't make things any worse.'She then vanished too like the others.

* * *

**12:15 pm at the DWA Coliseum**

Neon was dressed in the fighting attire he wore at the prelim. He had some time before his match, so he came earlier to for some meditating and shadow sparring before it began. The meditation he was already done with and now he was shadow sparring to keep his warm himself up. However the fact that he had been tracked down was still bothering him, even after covering his tracks for a long time. He was only able to think for a short time before being interrupted.

"Hello y'all." Tina greeted.

"Hello there Tina." Neon acknowledged, "How are you doing?"

"I'm good. You seem to be early."

"Yeah. I need to warm up before my fight. Since I'm here with the best of the best unlike the preliminary fights I have to be at my best too."

"That's right. You gotta bring your A-game if you wanna stand a chance against most of the fighters here like me, Zack, my daddy..."

"Yeah about your father um..."

"No need to apologize Neon." Tina interrupted, "He had it coming though you're one of the few guys who haven't let daddy scare you off. Zack too is another guy who hasn't been scared off too."

"I'm a hard person to intimidate. I also only give respect to those who earn it not those who expect it to automatically come their way." Neon said, "You for example have earned my respect. Accomplishing your goals with determination is something to be proud of and with what you've done you've already earned my respect."

Tina blushed at that happy that he agrees with her ambitious self and also the fact that she has earned Neon's respect.

"Why thank you Neon. You're a real sweetie you know." Tina complimented.

"You're welcome Tina." Neon acknowledged as he continued his shadow sparring for a few more minutes before he had to go into the arena for his fight.

"See you on the other side, Tina." he said as he went out of the room.

"Good luck to you Neon!" Tina shouted.

* * *

There was a huge crowd in the coliseum, all pumped up for the upcoming fight. The broadcasting crew was also there ready to get it all live on camera. Tina was hiding in the crowd trying to avoid Bass who was also there to watch the match. Jann Lee, Lei Fang, Hitomi, Eliot and Kokoro were on the other side of the stage with a good view. The ninjas Hayate, Ayane and Ryu were on the rooftops of the arena with the best view while Kasumi was watching from a discreet spot in the arena trying to avoid detection by her brother and half-sister.

Neon was already standing at the center of the DWA ring with his hands in his shorts' pockets, waiting for his opponent Brad Wong, who finally arrived in a tipsy state before face planting on the ground causing some of the spectators to laugh and the other fighters including Neon to either sweat drop or face palm at the ridiculous entrance. The announcer just came in ignored the guy lying on the floor and proceeded to get things going.

"ALRIGHT! THE FIRST FIGHT OF THE SECOND ROUND WILL NOW BEGIN! FIGHTERS TAKE YOUR STANCES AND MOVE TO CENTER!"

Brad got up from the floor and entered his drunken stance saying "Want a drink?"

Neon who was fuming on the inside cracked his knuckles in both hands before getting into an orthodox stance with his hands up and chin tucked.

'Time to deck this drunken asshole!'

**GET READY...FIGHT!**

Neon and Brad quickly moved to center of the ring. Neon carefully staying in range while Brad moved erratically. The Freestyle fighter observed his drunk opponent, gauged his timing and waited for his opening. It came rather quickly and the Grim Eagle struck.

Before anyone could even blink Neon cracked Brad with a looping overhand right on the jaw, sending him tumbling across the ring with a fast pursuing Neon looking to end the fight right there.

The crowd was going wild as they were about to see Neon get a very quick finish. The other fighters were also shocked at what had just happened. They already seen the Dutch-Japanese's insane knockout power at the prelim but to see it happen again to an experienced fighter like Brad was what shocked them.

Ayane was staring with her mouth open in disbelief. Hayate and Ryu were unfazed by this and Kasumi was staring in utter terror. Neon had gotten to Brad posturing up and unleashing heavy leather on him to finish the fight but to Neon's surprise Brad was still conscious barely and had composed himself before pushing the freestyle fighter off of him and getting to his feet to everyone's surprise again.

The crowd was going wild again after seeing Brad Wong recover from a near one hit K.O. and the other fighters especially Hitomi were even more surprised at this. Jann Lee, Ryu, Hayate and Neon weren't surprised.

"How did he get up from that?! That blow landed cleanly and should have knocked him out!" Ayane shouted.

"Neon would have ended it there if not for Brad's reaction." Hayate said.

"He rolled with the punch at the last moment." Ryu added, "Any second later and he would have been down for the count."

"Interesting... but Brad's still going to feel that one." Ayane said again, "I bet Neon's shocked that he didn't get his way."

"Actually he isn't." Hayate corrected, "He knows what Brad did and is not fazed by it. And he isn't happy about that."

Which was exactly correct.

'You cunning prick. You rolled with the punch at the last second. It would have been bad if it was too easy.' Neon thought as he switched to his southpaw stance. 'Too bad. Now I'll have to beat you down.'

Neon charged at Brad like a bat outta hell throwing hooks, upper cuts, over hooks and undercuts trying to beat his opponent senseless only to hit air and then getting countered with a headbutt to his chest by Brad. Startled but recovering quickly, Neon stepped back and then charged in again with a jab, right hook, left roundhouse kick combination which Brad dodged by getting down on the floor and grabbing Neon's feet, tripping him to the floor. Neon got up quickly and as he tried to catch Brad with a rising uppercut only for the drunkard to sway out of the way and return fire with a back flip kick hitting Neon square in the jaw but it wasn't as bad as it should have been due to Neon also rolling with the attack as it connected.

Ayane was grinning at what was going on now while Ryu and Hayate just looked on. Kasumi however was not happy because she had a bad feeling that things were only going to get worse soon.

"Ha! Looks like he underestimated Brad and now he's getting beat up by the drunkard." she mocked.

Everyone else was surprised at the sudden turn of events as Neon went from almost ending the fight to being countered all day long and getting frustrated.

'What the heck! This guy is just freaking random. I can't land jack shit on him due to his crazy dodging and counters.'Neon thought as he barely evaded another counter from Brad.

He then saw Brad's back to him and tried to attack only to end up barely dodging punches from his foe who wasn't even looking at him! Neon managed to teep kick him in the back and drop him on his face but this time not following it up as he could easily see the trap. He was right as Brad sprang back up and came at him with a flurry of punches and kicks which the freestyle fighter barely blocked and evaded with head movement but a few strikes got through hitting him on the face and a drop kick sending Neon stumbling back.

'Great. Now he's just being annoying.'

He managed to regain his footing before switching back to orthodox this time with a serious look on his face. 'Enough of this.'

Brad came at him with a three punch combination that Neon calmly ducked under and countered with a left hook to the body followed by a low kick at Brad's lead leg. Neon then dodged a back fist and came back with another body blow, leg kick combo before stepping back. Brad leaped in with a hop kick and once again hit air and eating a leg kick as he landed.

The crowd once again saw another shift in momentum as Neon was turning the tables this time and dodging Brad's attacks while countering with quick punches and leg kicks. Hitomi, Eliot, Kokoro, Tina and Lei Fang were confused at what was now happening just as much as everyone else in the crowd but Jann Lee knew what Neon was up to. He was picking Brad apart piece by piece, taking the spring out of the drunken fighter's legs, making him an easier target.

Ayane just sighed at Neon's defensive action.

"He's just evading and hitting him with weak kicks. Like that would do much."

"Not quite."

Ayane looked at Ryu puzzled at what he said.

"It may look like Neon's just dodging and only firing weak kicks at his legs but those same kicks are slowing Brad's movement."

Hayate then added, "Not only is his movement being reduced so is his ability to dodge and even attack too. Neon will soon gain momentum once more."

* * *

Brad was getting frustrated at missing his opponent and being countered multiple times. He then tried to grab Neon but got sent back by a right, left elbow combo. Brad tried fired a low kick at him but his legs felt heavy and were not as fast as he expected. Neon easily countered the low kick with a straight right to the face and dropped Brad on his behind. Brad quickly got back to his feet but it found it difficult to stand properly as he felt a lot of pain in his legs.

"Neon's shut his legs down and now has Brad right where he wants him." Jann Lee said with a smirk on his face.

"What do you mean?" Eliot asked.

"Neon had been chopping away at Brad's legs while he was on the defensive. Now Brad's going to have a hard time moving or even avoiding his attacks not to mention attacking back." Lei Fang said in agreement.

"In order words he's taking the air out of his tires and shut him down!" Hitomi said in excitement, "Brad's now easy picking for Neon."

And correct they were as Brad was now getting tagged by Neon's head, body combinations ending with much more vicious leg kicks. His legs were no longer able to properly support him and he was barely standing through sheer willpower.

Neon feinted a low kick which Brad fell for and cracked him with an uppercut, stunning his opponent and immediately swarming with elbows and punches on his victim trying to finish him once again but somehow Brad managed to survive once again and moved away from Neon, though that was difficult due to the damage to his leg from Neon's leg kicks. Brad backed up to the corner while being walked down by Neon who had switched stances again.

Seeing that his back was to the wall Brad threw a desperation strike at Neon, but that led to his doom as the Freestyle fighter countered with a weaving overhand dropping the drunken fighter into an unconscious heap and this time he was down for the count.

**K.O.!**

The crowd roared again as they cheered for Neon who was now walking away from his defeated foe with a straight face void of any emotion.

**WINNER!**

All Neon did was raise his hand up in a fist while walking away.

* * *

Neon just left the stage and walked out of the DWA Coliseum. Hitomi, Eliot and Kokoro had caught up to him congratulating him.

"Thanks Hitomi, although that was the most frustrating fight I have ever been in and I managed to win after getting tagged too much by counters."

"True. He was throwing you off with his awkward movements and unorthodox attacks but you still managed to turn the tables on him." Eliot said.

"Those kicks to the leg really did a number on him." Kokoro said, "I'm scared that he may not be able to walk again."

Just as she said that paramedics were carrying Brad on a stretcher towards the ambulance after bringing him back to consciousness.

"Don't worry. He'll walk again." Neon reassured everyone, "At least he'll be sober for a while."

Everyone laughed at his last statement before he turned his attention to Hitomi once more.

"By the way Hitomi I'll be waiting for that surprise dish of yours. So get cracking."

Hitomi chuckled as she tried to hide her blush by looking down and then recovered.

"Sure one surprise cuisine courtesy of Hitomi coming right up."

Up on top of a building three shadows looked on at the small group.

"I'll admit that he knows how to handle himself." Ayane admitted, "However he was fighting Brad so he got off easy, the next fight won't be as forgiving as this one."

Hayate and Ryu just looked on at the Dutch-Japanese freestyle fighter who had just proven to be just as dangerous as they saw earlier.

"We're done here. Let's go." Hayate said as the three of them disappeared.

Kasumi had come out of her hiding place still looking at Neon.

'He's won here. Now he's about to step further into the fire.'

* * *

**Chapter 3 End.**


	5. Kasumi's Concern

**Dead or Alive- Dark Horse**

**Disclaimer: I do not own the Dead or Alive series, the only thing I own is my OC.**

**Kasumi's concern**

* * *

Since winning his opening match, Neon didn't have to worry about anything else nor did he care to watch the other matches. After some rest he'd begin training for his quarterfinal match.

So far Neon's met some peculiar people in this tournament.

Hitomi is a German high school student who is a black belt in Karate and a very good cook based on the delicious dish enjoyed yesterday. She's also a hard working person as she helps her father with running the dojo they live and train in and she's a very friendly person to be around with.

Tina Armstrong is an American who was living her dream like many American women. She's a wrestling champion, an actress, and a model. Even with all that she's still not satisfied and now wants to be a rock star. She's very ambitious to say the least and very sociable too. Although she has an overprotective father who still can't get the hint that she's old enough to live her life the way she wants.

Speaking of Bass Armstrong, he's a legendary wrestling champion who has dominated the wrestling ring for a long time and he got Tina into the pro wrestling circuit too. He's proud of her as a champion but he's still not happy about her other accomplishments and future ambitions. He tried to intimidate Neon earlier but ended up humiliated by the Dutch-Japanese man at the welcome party and is still after him.

Christie as Neon could tell is an assassin who's in the tournament to take out a specific target. While he has no intention of getting in her way she still annoyed him with her talk of how similar they are as people who have killed before but Neon doesn't share her opinion.

Jann Lee is a Jeet Kune Do fighter who's very skilled and well-built for his fighting style. He seems to like taking on tough opponents and has got Neon in his cross-hairs and the freestyle fighter too is eager to take him on in the tournament.

Then there are the four ninjas that are also in the tournament and so far he's met only two of them. Ayane is nothing but prideful and incredibly arrogant. She thinks she's the hottest thing since sliced bread and Neon would have no problem giving her a whole mouthful of humble pie. Kasumi however has been beating around the bush ever since he met her at the welcoming party. She's been so concerned about him for reasons he doesn't know and has tried to get him to leave the tournament. She also seems to know that he's the 42nd master of Bushinryu Ninpo which he has kept hidden and not utilized for a while time though he still keeps training in it to not lose his edge with it. He's very eager to know why the kunoichi is so concerned about him.

**10:00 hrs. Tokyo, Japan.**

Neon woke up on his king size bed in his hotel room. He was feeling very different than yesterday. Much more alert and aware of his surroundings. He has had this feeling before whenever he had a won a hard fought battle against a capable opponent. A feeling he neither likes nor dislikes as he never seemed to care about it or even know why he experienced it after every fight.

He got up from the bed and walked towards the bathroom putting on the radio inside it and proceeded to have a shower. The station that was on was talking about the DOA tournament and about the fighter that many are calling the _Dark Horse_ of the tournament which was obviously Neon himself. Soon he was done with his shower, cleaning of his teeth and put on a black shirt, orange cargo pants, Adidas sneakers, black gloves and a white trench coat on top of his shirt before leaving his hotel room.

At the hotel lobby Neon spotted someone he did not expect to see: Kasumi, who was wearing a school girl outfit and her hair loose and sitting in the lobby while pretending to read a magazine.

'Talk about a bad disguise to wear in a place like this? And how the heck did she find this hotel?'

Neon also sensed another presence that was in the lobby that did a good job of hiding from physical view but not from his sixth sense and he knew who it was.

'Great. That annoying kunoichi Ayane's found me too? I got to give her the slip while I find a way to corner Kasumi and get answers out of her.'

Leaving his room key with the receptionist Neon leaves the hotel and moves at a quick pace down the street. After turning a corner, he once again sensed Kasumi and Ayane and four new people, all following him.

'More of those hunters again?! You got to be kidding' me!?'

He broke into a sprint as he attempted to lose his pursuers. The six individuals followed suite after him trying to not lose sight of the man/target they were following.

Kasumi and Ayane were wondering why Neon suddenly started sprinting and from the rooftops they saw two men and two women sprinting after him.

'Why are they chasing after him?'Ayane thought. She was still observing the Dutch-Japanese like Ryu and her half-brother Hayate ordered her to. She had found the hotel where he stayed but she also found another person there to...Kasumi who she wanted to eliminate. When Neon left the hotel Kasumi also followed him which made her wonder_ '_Why is she following him? Does she know something that I don't?'

Meanwhile Kasumi had managed to locate where Neon was staying for the tournament and it was a four-star hotel. She was waiting in disguise in the lobby for him to show up before she talked to him about his situation but then discovering that Neon had seen through her disguise and also detected Ayane hiding in the lobby. 'Why is Ayane here? Did Hayate send her to spy on Neon?'She then saw Neon leaving the hotel and she followed suite too. While she was following him from the rooftops, she sensed the presence of the four individuals that caused Neon to run almost immediately with the four following. 'I have a bad feeling this is not going to end well for them.'

**11:00 hrs. at Sakura temple**

"Okay why the fuck are you insects here?" Neon said as he was glaring at the two guys and two gals that were trying to catch their breath after chasing him past 8 blocks non-stop.

"We're here because someone wants you back really badly." One of the women said stepping forward. She is British, standing 6' tall with a slim frame, short brown hair, and brown eyes and wearing a white dress shirt with a red tank top under it, black jeans and black shoes and she'd just finished wiping the sweat off of her forehead, "And that same person promised to pay us a handsome amount of money for your return."

"Really? So you are willing to run to your deaths for money?" Neon deadpanned.

"As if you can take us?" said one of the men. He is Russian, standing at Neon's height of 6'3" tall with a bulky muscular build, bald, green eyes and wearing a black suit over a blue dress shirt, black trousers and white shoes looking confidently at the Dutchman, "It's four against one. The odds are not in your favor."

"Don't underestimate him, Durgon." the other man beside him said. He is Chinese, standing 5'10" tall, with a medium build, black hair, and blue eyes and wearing a black T-shirt, blue jeans and black Nike sneakers, "You read the file. He killed 21 people at the ago of 17 before his escape from the facility so the numbers won't matter."

"Listen to Li, you baka!" said the other girl that is Japanese and impulsive, standing 5'6" tall with a slim build and a developing bust, long black hair reaching her shoulders, red eyes and wearing a red long-sleeved kimono with dragon designs on the skirt, an obi sash around the waist, tabi socks and wooden sandals.

"What was that you geisha wannabe!?" Durgon shouted in response, "Not like you can hold your own against me not to mention him."

"Enough you two! Save your bickering for another time!" The leader shouted, "As I was saying Neon 'Grim' Cross, you're coming with us."

"What's your name?" Neon asked.

"Alisa Mason."

"Did that good-for-nothing bitch send you four to your deaths?"

"What do you mean to our deaths? Our employer only told us to just bring you in."

"Well then...Right now I'm giving you four one chance to get the fuck out of my sight and tell that bitch-born whore that she'd better leave me the fuck alone or I'll send any fools she sends back to her in fucking body bags!" Neon said.

"I see. So that is your final answer?" Alisa asked again.

"I have no intention to repeat myself. So what's it gonna be? You go back with your lives or I send you all to the afterlife? Choose wisely." Neon said.

Hiding in different trees Ayane and Kasumi were observing the scene in front of them with different opinions.

'So he's an escapee from some facility huh? Is he that special that those four were hired to catch him? And I get to see another bloodbath again! This should be interesting.'Ayane thought.

'Please leave now. Consider his offer and leave with your lives intact or else none of you will make it.'Kasumi thought with dread all over her.

'So they are both here to watch huh? Well depending on this quartet they will get a show or none at all.' Neon thought after sensing the two kunoichi in the area. Then he looked at the four people in front of him once more.

"So what's your answer Alisa? Or do you need me to pick for you?"

"We can't do that. We were hired to bring you in and we intend to see it through." Alisa answered bluntly.

"Exactly Mr. Cross! Say goodbye to your freedom!" Durgon said with glee.

"Save us all the trouble and not resist." Li said nonchalantly.

"Exactly! There's no way you can stand a chance against us." Norami said in excitement.

Neon closed his eyes in frustration. He had given them a chance to leave with their lives but money had already blinded them making it impossible to reason with them. That and their arrogance, thinking they can take him down together. He'll have to send a message to the bitch who sent them.

He opened his eyes and glared at them only this time both eyes were red, freaking out the four bounty hunters in front of him.

"Well then since you're willing to die then I'll be happy to give your one way trip to hell!"

Alisa was trying to draw out her revolver but was quickly overwhelmed by Neon who twisted her arm that had the gun behind her before kneeing her in the solar plexus dropping her on her knees, taking her revolver from her grasp and hitting her at the back of her head and knocking her out. Durgon was about to charge in to help Alisa only to end up with a switch blade right between the eyes courtesy of Neon's precision throw. Li already had his Colt .45 out and unloaded the full clip only to hit the corpse of Durgon that Neon was using as a shield. Before he could reload his weapon blood and brain matter erupted from his head as Neon shot him right between the eyes too with Alisa's revolver. Norami was caught flat footed by the sudden actions before her and tried to run only to end up shot in the back.

All this happened within the span of 15 seconds.

Ayane was surprised. No shocked out of her mind at what had just unfolded right before her. Neon had just taken down the four individuals and all with speed and precision. One of them who seemed to be the leader was down on her face knocked out, while the other three were dead. She had to let Hayate and Ryu know about this.

Kasumi on the other hand was trying to fight back tears in her eyes. She had just seen Neon ruthlessly incapacitate one and kill the other three in cold blood and with no remorse on his face. She was hoping that they'd leave him alone after he asked them to so that he wouldn't have to needlessly kill them, but their greed and arrogance got them all killed.

All except one, which was Alisa who was groaning as she struggled to get up while still in pain from the knee to her solar plexus. Neon had heard her and was walking to her at a quick pace with the revolver still in his left hand. Kasumi and Ayane watched to see what he'd do next and what they saw next was not what they wanted to see.

Neon walked to Alisa's side and soccer kicked her in the head flipping her onto her back with her arms out this time and with Neon's right foot on her chest. He then shot her left hand and right hand both as if he was crucifying her. Alisa was screaming in agony while Neon looked on with a blank face. She looked up and into the eyes of the man above her. It was void of emotion, mercy or remorse.

"Alisa." Neon spoke.

"Finish what you started already! I hope you live to regret it." Alisa shouted while barely ignoring the pain.

"You brought this on yourselves not me." Neon countered, "I gave you the chance to leave with your life intact but now you'll be my messenger girl instead."

"What message do you want me to deliver?"

**BANG!**

"This one."

Alisa went limp as the last bullet went through her forehead ending her life.

Neon got his foot off her corpse and searched it and then the others. He got some money, their IDs and their phones and left the area while disposing of the empty gun in a nearby trash bin. Kasumi and Ayane both vanished from their hiding spots as he left following him to where he was going next.

* * *

Leaving the Sakura temple, Neon proceeded to walk somewhere else as he heard the police and ambulance sirens approaching. While on the path in a forest, where he saw sakura trees all around him one of the phones he looted rang. He checked and saw that it was Alisa's phone that rang and answered it.

_"Alisa have you found him yet?"_ a female voice asked.

"She found him alright." Neon answered, "But she also found death too."

_"Who's this and what did you to Alisa and her colleagues?"_

"Simple. I sent them on a one way trip to hell courtesy of Neon 'Grim' Cross."

_"Ah! Neon it's been a long time, too long to be exact! How has life been treating you?"_

"Well enough to at least enjoy it without you breathing down my neck until now!"

_"Aww! No need to be hostile. I'm just looking out for you."_

"Cut the bull crap bitch!" Neon shouted, "My life has been a living hell thanks to you! I have done nothing but run, fight, kill and keep on running, fighting and killing just to be away from you and live my life in peace!"

_"It's not my fault. You're a mistake that I regret making and I intend to correct it."_

"Nice try! The only mistake you made was coming after me after I left that hell hole you dumped me in."

_"If you hadn't decided to break out of the lab facility while leaving the 21 personnel dead then we won't be having this conversation."_

"The only reason why I'm even talking to you is because you didn't get my message the first time you good-for-nothing bitch! It was simple. Leave me the fuck alone and there will be no problems however you just couldn't accept that the weapon you created was out there not under your control."

_"There was no way I could do that. All through the years you had made so many enemies that I couldn't risk you getting out there while they wanted payback or falling into enemy hands."_

"Well you don't have to worry about that any more as I made sure to reduce that list of enemies until there is only one...and it's **YOU**!"

_"This is getting nowhere. Give up this pointless resistance and come in peacefully so that it'll end once and for all."_

"How about screw you and shove that stick up your bitch ass you cunt! Now this will be the last time I'll say this **leave me the fuck alone and there will be no problems**."

_"You know that I can't do that. As long as you exist I have no choice but to keep hunting you down until I bring you in."_

**"Then I hope you have a lot of body bags and are prepared to explain to a lot of people about why their loved ones are not coming back."**

Neon cut the line and then dumped all the cellphones in a trash bin he spotted as he walked by. While he was still walking Ayane appeared in front of him wearing a purple butterfly dress with a yellow bow purple stockings and purple boots an evil grin on her face.

"Aren't you quite the sadistic and ruthless killer?" She teased.

"Get to the point, Ayane." Neon said coldly.

"C'mon. You ruthlessly took down three people with the speed and precision close to that of a ninja. Then you executed the last one in cold blood. It looked like you'd done this more than once." Ayane continued. I'd bet that you are a ninja or have some form of ninja training, right?"

"None of your fucking business girl, now leave my presence."

"Okay sure. Oh by the way where's Kasumi?"

"Why the hell are you asking me? I'm not her keeper."

"Well because I intend to kill her when I find her and just want to let you know that if you get in my way I'll kill you too."

"And if you don't get the fuck out of my sight I'll kill you too."

"Hmph. Whatever."

Ayane then vanished from the forest leaving Neon behind.

'What's that bitch's problem? She sure as hell a sadist and an arrogant ninja too. What does she want with Kasumi anyways?' he thought before looking to his left. "I know you're around here Kasumi. Show yourself as you got a lot of answering to do."

Kasumi appeared in front of him with a surprised look on her face as sakura petals were dispersing from her.

"Before you even say anything, I had detected you and Ayane long before I left the hotel this morning." Neon answered before she could even ask, "And seriously you need a better disguise than a Japanese school uniform."

"What's wrong with it? I actually like it." Kasumi pouted.

"Whatever." Neon scoffed, "Now back to business."

Kasumi looked at Neon with a serious look on her face.

"Why did you kill those people?" she asked.

"Why do you care? They've got nothing to do with you." Neon answered harshly.

"They didn't deserve to die. You could have just..."

"Knocked them out huh? And then have them come back for me again? Very smart..."

"Still you didn't have to kill them in cold blood."

"The pot's calling the kettle black!" Neon scoffed, "Aren't you a runaway shinobi that has killed many ninjas that were after your life?"

Kasumi was shocked at this. How did Neon know that was a runaway shinobi even though she hadn't told him?

"In case you're wondering why I know, Ayane's big mouth and her stalking of you and me made that obvious, though I'd like to know why she wants you dead." Neon once again answered as if he read her mind, "And no I don't read minds."

Kasumi regained her composure as she proceeded to tell her story about her life as a child of the Mugen Tenshin head family, her reluctance to become the head of the clan, Raidou's betrayal and actions, Ayane's resentment to her, how she killed Raidou to get vengeance for Hayate, becoming a nukenin and how she has been on the long for so long dealing with ninjas sent by her own brother Hayate the current leader of the Mugen Tenshin clan to kill her. Needless to say Neon wasn't just pissed, he was beyond furious right now especially at Ayane and Hayate.

He never cared for Raidou as he saw him as refuse burning in the fires of hell but as for the Ayane and Hayate it was different. While he felt sorry for Ayane for being treated like crap because of a situation she had no control he found her current attitude towards Kasumi very stupid, petty and pathetic.

Hayate however Neon had no love for as he saw him as a spineless piece of shit that didn't even deserve to be called Kasumi's brother considering that he didn't hesitate to send ninjas to kill his own sibling and easily let some council make him to do so.

However Neon respected her more for her ability to take action and get justice for her family while giving the rules the proverbial 'F-You' but he also felt sorry for her as she was almost like him constantly on the run, barely enjoying their freedom, constantly on alert and sleeping with one eye opened because at any time it can end badly. While he saw her as a naive pacifist who always looked for peaceful way out, he respected her willingness to take action and even take a life unlike him that did so without thinking twice.

"Let me get this straight, your half-sister is mad because she thinks of you as a spoiled brat although you never cared for the princess treatment while that piece of trash that calls himself your brother has no problem sending ninjas to kill you because of the Mugen Tenshin's bullshit laws. How pathetic." Neon summed it up in disgust.

"I understand your frustration but you don't have to be so harsh on them." Kasumi said, "While I admit that you are right about some things I still respect their decisions to come after me. Hayate in fact is in a difficult spot."

"Either kill you to prove his loyalty to the Mugen Tenshin or refuse and be seen as a traitor and also hunted down. Still pathetic of him to still try to kill his own sister because of some bullshit loyalty." Neon scoffed.

Kasumi went silent after he said that. She couldn't believe that Neon could be so harsh about her siblings and decided to get back to what she intended to do.

"Neon, can you tell me about yourself?" she asked.

"Why do you want to know my life story?" Neon asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Well I told you mine."

"I only asked for why Ayane wanted you dead but you gave me that and more."

"Well can you tell me anyways?"

"Tch, fine. Long or short version?"

"Long."

Neon sighed.

"I was the third born out of four other kids. My father was a retired counter-terrorism operative and Muay Thai champion while my mother was a lawyer and the 41st Master of Bushinryu Ninpo. My older brother and two sisters saw me as a weakling because they thought they were stronger, more athletic and smarter than me. What they didn't know was that I was holding back on my abilities because I hated standing out. My parents of course saw through my facade and knew that I was much better than the others plus I was more adaptable, so they decided to secretly train me. My father trained me in the art of Muay Boran, a much more lethal version of Muay Thai and military tactics while my mother trained me in the art of Bushinryu and how to see underneath the bull crap. When I was 13, I beat her to become the 42nd Master and she was very proud of me. My siblings kept treating me like dirt but I ignored them and did not stoop down to their level."

Neon paused to gather himself, "Then my life took a nose dive when terrorists came to our home and murdered my parents and siblings but I somehow survived but was comatose for three years. When I woke up I found myself in some kind of lab facility. I had been experimented on to create a super soldier for the United Nations' Bounty Rook project and that facility belonged to them."

"You were experimented on?!" Kasumi said in horror, "How could they do that to someone at that young?"

"They did it because they could." Neon said, "The project was a success as I became a mindless super soldier with only loyalty to the UN. I was sent in to neutralize terrorist threats, civil uprisings, assassinations, demolitions and all sorts to maintain world peace."

"How did you leave though?" Kasumi asked.

Neon continued, "Well three people did not like the fact that I was a just a mindless weapon with no free will. One of them was my psychologist Dr. Dunnan Vela, who was a very nice lady. She helped me to regain my free will and become more human. Next was the UN Chief of Security who went by the name 'Red'. He was actually a good friend of my father when they were both in counter-terrorism and when he found out that I was his friend's son, he was pissed off about what the UN had done to me and he secretly got the plan to get me human again and also planned my escape attempt. Last was his nephew Ron Russel who was my support during my missions who was always concerned about my behavior during the missions. He secretly hacked into UN files and found out everything about the Bounty Rook project including me and told his uncle about it all. All three of them helped to plan my escape from the lab facility I was kept in. On the day when I escaped, Dr. Vela had left the facility for some implied off base work. I killed all the 21 personnel that got in my way and escaped in a chopper that Ron had arranged to pick me up."

"So the three of them helped you to become a normal human and get away from that place. That's nice of them." Kasumi said.

"Yeah. They are the only ones that I considered friends and even family." Neon said with a smile.

"Are they alright?"

"Yeah they are. Even today no one has any idea that they were involved in my escape or how I became human."

"Still how come you are being hunted?"

Neon's face changed from happy to very angry.

"The leader of project Bounty Rook was a bitch and unrepentant old school military nutcase of a scientist named Mako Yashiro. She's the one who made me into the perfect weapon she wanted in the name of world peace. She is nothing but a hypocrite who would sell her whole family for power and world domination which is exactly what she wanted to use me for, to eventually destroy the UN, gain control of the world and rule it with an iron fist. Unfortunately she now can't because I am not around and she can't create another me because I am the only one she could create and the files for repeating it were wiped out by me when I escaped and blew up the facility."

Kasumi was very shocked by what he said. It reminded her of Victor Donovan who wanted to create the ultimate soldier for his own insane plan for world domination.

'That Mako Yashiro is more or less the same as him. Power hungry and obsessed with creating the ultimate being.'

Her thoughts were interrupted when Neon got in her face with an inquisitive look on it.

"Now let me get to the reason why I really wanted to see you before the side tracking. Why are you so concerned about me?" Neon asked, "You mentioned that I was a lost soul who had suffered a lot which is true. I've had to deal with the death of my family, the guilt of all innocent civilians I had killed while I was a mindless weapon and being on the run from the bitch Mako and her mercenaries and bounty hunters. But still why do you give a damn about my situation when it doesn't involve you?"

"Well..." Kasumi began, "I had been having nightmares about a man was getting more hostile, blood thirsty and even sadistic the more he fought until many people had to band together to take him down and they still could not stop this man. He eventually destroyed himself at the end of it after his own friends had to kill him."

"And I am this man right?" Neon inquired.

"Yes. When I saw you on the ship I couldn't believe that you showed up and with the way you thoroughly defeated those opponents from the prelim, Brad Wong, and even killed those bounty hunters you are getting closer to the deep end."

"Is that so?"

"Yes I feel that you should leave the tournament before this gets worse."

Neon just stared at Kasumi after what she said before he began chuckling and then bursting into full blown psychotic laughter causing her to be confused.

After regaining his composure he got serious once again, "Like that's going to happen."

"Don't you understand?"

"No! I don't see anything I should understand. Just because you had some nightmare about me going insane and battle crazy doesn't mean that it'll happen."

"But..."

"No need to worry yourself. I have self-control so the odds of that nightmare coming true is 0. So there's no need to be concerned."

Kasumi however was not convinced since she had heard his conversation with Mako on the phone earlier and she still believes that Neon's enemy would still send people after him.

"You know that she wouldn't stop until she either captures you, you end up dead or you kill you." she spoke up.

"Yeah I know that. I was hoping that she just gives up on this pointless chase." Neon sighed, "If she did then I'd easily move on with my life instead of being a drifting mercenary."

"You are a mercenary?"

"Yeah but that's not something to make a fuss over. Anyways you don't have to worry about me going berserk okay. And I don't intend to lose to anyone in the tournament even you, Ayane, Hayate or Ryu Hayabusa." Neon answered as he turned around and began to leave.

"Uh Neon."

The mentioned person stopped but didn't turn around.

"If you are the 42nd Master of Bushinryu Ninpo then why haven't you used any of those skills yet?" Kasumi curiously asked.

"It's because I don't like too much attention which the use of Bushinryu in this tournament will attract since it hasn't been seen since the days of the 39th master Guy, one of the heroes of Metro City." Neon answered, "However if I fight someone worth my time in this tournament then you may get a glimpse at least of it."

Suddenly he vanished in a gust of wind while saying, "Kasumi, you'd better not die or I'll drag you out wherever ya end up and beat the crap out you!"

Kasumi just stood there with an amused face. 'Don't worry Neon. I don't intend to let anyone kill me.' She then vanished too in sakura petals.

* * *

**Chapter 4 End.**


	6. A Painful Lesson

**Dead or Alive- Dark Horse**

**Disclaimer: I do not own the Dead or Alive series, the only thing I own is my OC.**

**A Painful Lesson**

* * *

**9:56 am in Tokyo, Japan**

Neon wakes up with a jolt. His face was drenched in sweat and his breathing was ragged. He managed to calm himself and wipe the sweat from his face.

'That crazy nightmare returns to haunt my ass again!'

He went off to the bathroom to have his bath, and get himself ready for the day. He put on a black long-sleeved shirt with 'Grim Eagle' printed on it and an eagle design at the back of it, orange khaki trousers, black gloves and orange sneakers before leaving his room.

After leaving the hotel, Neon decided to jog down the street with no destination in mind, to help him forget the nightmare that haunted him last night.

After jogging past three blocks he slowed down and leaned against the wall of a nearby building. He took in the sights of the area as people walked by him, cars drove by and also saw a market where people were buying stuff. Neon checked his wallet to see if he had any money and found out that he did have some so he decided to buy something to drink as he jogged.

Neon was about to move when the sound of a motorcycle came to his ears but he ignored it to continue jogging. As he continued he saw the look of anxiety and then fear on the face of some people in front of him and he knew instantly that someone was behind him and up to no good. Looking over his shoulder, Neon spotted someone that he did not want to see at all: Bass Armstrong. And he was glaring at him with murder in his eyes.

"What do you want Bass?" Neon asked nonchalantly.

"You to stay away from Tina, punk!" Bass answered.

"Seriously?! You came all the way here to tell me that?" Neon deadpanned, hiding his annoyance.

"Yes I did! Now stay away from Tina or else!" Bass threatened.

Neon scoffed at the bigger man, "Nice try with the intimidation but it's weak." He then put his hands in his trouser pockets, "Besides Tina's old enough to handle herself without you breathing down her neck. Quit treating her like a baby already!"

"What was that!?"

"I hate repeating myself." Neon face palmed before sneering at Bass, "For crying out loud Tina's an adult not a baby girl old man! If you can't get that through your skull then you're even more pathetic than I expected!"

Bass lost it. He threw an haymaker at Neon but missed wildly as the freestyle fighter ducked under and punched Bass in the gut causing him to stumble back.

"Don't go around throwing empty threats at every guy that approaches your daughter!" Neon said as he cracked his knuckles, "It will lead to her hating your guts or much worse."

"DON'T TELL ME HOW TO RAISE MY DAUGHTER YOU BLACK BASTARD!" Bass shouted. Unfortunately for him he just upped the ante with the insult which really spelled doom for the legendary wrestler.

"You know what Bass?" Neon said as both eyes were now red, "I'll just beat your wrinkly old ass into the ground PERMANENTLY!"

Before Bass could even register the statement he found himself crashing through stalls at the market before he finally stopped at a wall. He looked up in surprise at Neon who was staring at him with murder in his eyes as he walked up to the wrestler. Neon could see that and decided to indulge him.

"You're wondering how the hell a guy like me could send a big guy like you flying huh? I'd tell you but I know you watched me at the prelims so you should already know about that. Now let the beat down continue!" he said as he got into stance.

Bass got up from the mess he was in and charged at Neon trying to hit with a lariat only to miss really badly as his target just ducked under it and left his leg put to trip him causing the wrestler to face plant really hard.

"Didn't you learn your lesson the first time old man?"Neon taunted.

"Hold still you little twerp!" Bass shouted as he rose up to his feet again.

'Wow! I'm only two inches shorter and he still thinks I'm little.'Neon thought.

Bass got up and charged again only to miss again and get smacked by another body shot that took some air out of him. Neon was nonchanlantly walking behind him after that counter.

"Seriously? That body blow's enough to stun you? Ha! Pathetic!"

"You're dead meat! You hear me! DEAD MEAT!"

"HA! Try it if you can old man!"

Bass seeing nothing but red rushed at Neon throwing haymakers, uppercuts, elbows, even kicks but only hit air as the freestyle fighter just used elbow defense and head movement to avoid damage from the sloppy and predictable attacks before returning fire with brutal counter punches to the face and body.

Neon then threw a right roundhouse kick which Bass happily caught with his hands, but not noticing the grin on his opponent's face, which led to him having his head snapping back after being on the receiving end of a somersault kick from Neon.

"And you expect me to be intimidated? You're so pathetic Bass." Neon stated.

* * *

Two minutes later, Tina arrives at the market in her convertible to find a crowd surrounding something. She got out of her ride and made her way to whatever the commotion was, and was joining them in shock as she saw Neon complete a back flip single leg takedown on her father leaving a quite a crater!

'What in the... I know Neon is strong but not THAT STRONG!'

Neon had gotten up after pulling what was considered a crazy slam on a much larger opponent and looked at said opponent who was still conscious in the crater but barely.

'Not bad! He's still awake after that. After all he's a 'legendary wrestling champion'.'

Bass barely got up from the crater he was in while a bloody mess.

"You're not done yet, are you?" Neon taunted again.

Bass was shaking in rage. He could not believe what had just happened, he had just been slammed into the ground by some punk, humiliating him again as he did at the welcoming party. He glared at Neon and went berserk.

"I'M GONNA TEAR YOU LIMB FROM LIMB!"

Neon unfazed by the berserk wrestler just stared back at him with a bored look on his face. "Is that supposed to be a joke? Because I'm not amused in the slightest."

The berserk Bass charged at Neon once again as the red-eyed freestyle fighter just looked at him in boredom. When he was in range Neon snapped a kick at Bass' gut where the liver was causing him to howl in agony as he dropped to his knees. However Neon wasn't done yet, he grabbed Bass' head and left arm between his right arm and body and put him in a standing guillotine choke. Seeing Bass struggling to escape Neon tightened his hold and arched back more leaving Bass' arms and legs flailing about in the air as he lifted him above the ground to the shock of everyone especially Tina.

"NEON THAT'S ENOUGH! YOU'RE KILLING HIM!" Tina shouted.

Unfortunately that statement fell on deaf ears as Neon maintained the submission hold and his back muscles tensed up until Bass finally went limp. Noticing the lack of movement from his opponent, he let go of the hold and Bass' limp body fell down in a heap out cold.

"Let that be a lesson to you Bass. Your daughter's old enough to live her life as she sees fit without you breathing down her neck and threatening any guy she meets especially one who can wipe the floor with you."

Neon casually walked from his opponent as people gathered around the unconscious body as some of them were calling the emergency hotline.

As he was leaving the scene Neon spotted Bass' motorcycle parked at its spot. He wanted to blow the vehicle to kingdom come to add insult to injury but decided against it as the beating he'd given seemed more than enough.

His left eye turned green once again as he finally calmed down and was about to leave for his apartment when he heard Tina walking up to him and he could easily sense that she was not happy at all as he turned around to face her.

"Just what did you think you were doing!?" Tina shouted.

"Your father tried to intimidate me earlier and you can see the results." Neon answered.

"That does not mean that you try to kill my daddy?!"

"He attacked me first and I defended myself. Simple!"

"That looked more like overkill than self defense Neon!"

"Overkill?! If I wanted to **KILL** him I would have done that a lot sooner by breaking every bone in his body and leaving him in a puddle choking on his own blood! If you ask me he got off **EASY**!"

Tina was shocked. She couldn't believe what she had just heard and furthermore she couldn't believe how cold and harsh he was acting now. Neon saw tears forming in her eyes and sighed at this. He turned around and left but not after saying one last thing.

"I won't apologize for my actions today because your father asked for it, the only reason why I didn't kill him is because he needed to learn a painful but not lethal lesson about attacking much more dangerous people for stupid reasons. That over there is one of many results of that."

Neon then left Tina behind ignoring her sobbing and screaming and caring in the slightest about what she thought about him.

**21:00 hrs at the DOA dome.**

Neon was in a foul mood as he stood with the those who had made it to the quarterfinals with him. His fellow competitors could see it too especially Hitomi, Kasumi, Ayane and Jann Lee but they chose to not dwell on it as the announcer came up on the podium.

Once again he blocked out the noise in the arena hoping for the announcer to just get it over with so that he'd know who was his next opponent and leave already. Dealing with that moronic old man Bass left a bad taste in his mouth. Finally the screen above them had finally come on showing his next opponent.

**Neon "Grim" Cross vs. Hitomi**

That caught him unaware for a moment, as he didn't expect this match to come so soon. However he was now excited as he could now fight her at her best and he'd be able to go all in.

'I hope you're ready to fight me for real, Hitomi.'

'I'm fighting Neon-san next?'

* * *

**Chapter 5 End.**


	7. Fireworks

**Dead or Alive- Dark Horse**

**Disclaimer: I do not own the Dead or Alive series, the only thing I own is my OC.**

**Fireworks**

* * *

**Two days later. 12:00 hrs Tokyo, Japan.**

Neon reached a temple that was in the city. It was not that big compared to the last one he went to where he took out four people and talked with Kasumi and Ayane. He's wearing a green short-sleeved shirt, white cargo pants with a white jacket tied around his waist, an orange scarf around his neck and orange sneakers. His long white hair was not in a pony-tail leaving it hanging, reaching his waist.

He went to an altar that was in the area and stood in front of it in silence. Memories of multiple people dying in many different ways flashed before his eyes, some killed by him and some he witnessed dying.

Memories he had tried to forget completely and was successful in doing so until he killed more people again to avoid capture thanks to a certain old bitch who hadn't heeded his warnings.

"WHY?! WHY?! WHY?!"Neon lamented.

He looked at the palm of his left hand and for a brief moment saw blood on it before it vanished from him. He formed a fist with that hand and gritted his teeth as he tried to suppress more memories that were trying to surface.

'I never asked for this at all! This accursed power or job as a mindless weapon, ruthless executioner or even mass murdering monstrosity.'

"It is all her fault! That damned Mako Yashiro!" Neon muttered to himself.

After a few minutes of contemplation, he dropped a coin into the offerings box before he performed a quick prayer.

"I know that it's still not enough but once again I hope that those who didn't deserve to have their lives extinguished can all rest in peace."

Neon then turned around putting his hands in his pocket.

"I know that you've been tailing and spying on me since I left the coffee shop this morning, so just come out."

He heard foot steps from in front of him as once again he saw someone he didn't want to come across again: Christie, wearing black leather trousers and open jacket with blue flame detailing and jaw-shaped leg guards, red-and-black boots, and red belt and jewelry.

"Fancy meeting you here Mr. Cross." Christie remarked, "Never thought of you to be the religious type."

"Everyone has their own god or deity they worship, even those who have killed a lot." Neon bluntly replied.

"Interesting isn't it? For a man like you to say that."

"What do you want again, assassin? I don't have time for chit-chat with you."

"Because of your match today? Yes, I know that and it's not going to begin until 3:00 pm tomorrow, so I'll try not to take too much of your time so that you can train."

"Answer my question assassin."

"I have a name, just so you know and it's Christie."

"Like I give a fuck!"

"No need to be such a grouch Mr. Bounty Rook."

Neon froze on the spot in shock but managed to quickly recover.

"Surprised to hear that name again?" Christie continued.

"That was a name from a long time ago and one that I have left behind." Neon answered, "What do you want from me?"

"Ever since I saw you on the ship, I've been curious about you as you seemed familiar but I couldn't put a finger on it not until two days ago when I recounted some of my old jobs and found one that involved a simple hit on some diplomat with really big connections."

Neon stayed silent as he let Christie continue.

"Just as I was about to snipe him I heard gunshots and lots of screaming. Whoever it was, subtlety was not in their mind causing my target to freak out and try to get away while leaving his men to die at the intruder's hands. Said intruder was very ruthless and precise with the way they took down those that were foolish enough to get in their way. They finally cornered him and proceeded to sadistically beat him to kingdom come for something. As they were about to execute him I made my move and took him out."

"So you were the assassin that was meant to shut him up. Why am I not surprised?" Neon remarked.

"Yes and you chased me down across the rooftops, trading gunfire with me and then nearly beating me to death trying to get me to divulge my employer's name, before I managed escaped into a nearby stream to get away from you." Christie answered before she sighed, "And since then I had been looking for you to pay you back for that attempt on my life but you had mysteriously gone off the grid. Just like that you were gone. I eventually forgot about that until I saw you again and talked to you at the party."

"Let me guess you're still holding a grudge." Neon stated, "That was just me doing my job then and after you stole my kill I was ordered to chase your ass down and get answers from you. A professional like you should know that."

Christie scoffed, "I know that we were both professionals just doing our jobs and besides, I know better than to mess with the UN and end up on their shit list."

"Whatever. Thanks for the unnecessary trip down memory lane and once again stay out of my way and I'll stay out of yours."

"I take it that you know who my target is and yet you are making no attempt to stop me."

"If I was still working for UN you'd be dead already, but since I have no obligation to them I don't give a shit about who you want to kill. So feel free to take out your target unless it's me then that'll be a different story."

Christie sweat drops at how casually Neon just said that.

"Well then sayonara to ya Christie." Neon says as he walks away.

* * *

**14:55 hrs Tokyo Shopping District.**

Neon arrived at the shopping district, wondering how the heck he even ended up there to begin with as he didn't even plan on going there. However he chose to just go with the flow and ride the wind like the drifter he is as he entered the Tokyo mall.

Walking around he was amazed at the size of the place, he had been to other malls in the US, England, even Nigeria and South Africa, and this one is very large in its own right.

"I may not be a fan of ... screw that I'm not a fan of shopping but I can make an exception and at least buy something." Neon said, "Good thing I have some money on me."

"Hello Mr. Cross." Neon turned around to spot a woman that seemed familiar to him but couldn't recall seeing her at all.

"I'd like to say "hello to you too" but who are you and how do you know my name?" Neon asked with an inquisitive look.

"My name is Lisa Hamilton. Nice to meet you and I know you because I saw your fight against Brad Wong. Plus people are calling you the tournament's _Dark Horse_." Lisa answered.

"I'm not surprised about that. I had a feeling that people were not expecting me to even make it to this point and a few people are actually banking on me to win it all." Neon mentions.

"You're the wild card here." Lisa said, "You the mysterious fighter who came in blitzed through everyone in the prelim and even defeat the drunken master Brad Wong. That's the kind of stuff that'll open people's eyes."

"Is that right? Well then expect me to do more then, and by the way have we met before? You seem very familiar but I can't put a finger on it."

"Maybe. Maybe not." Lisa answers. 'Actually you have but I don't have to tell you that now do I?'

"I see, it must be my imagination." Neon said.

"Are you here shopping? You don't look like someone who enjoys it." Lisa asks.

"I'm not much of a shopper except for the basic stuff." Neon answers, "But since I'm in a mall I might as well get something at least even though I didn't plan to even be here."

"Well then have fun, Mr. Cross. See you tomorrow and good luck in your match." Lisa said before she went her own way.

'I can now say that I have met her before. She's very familiar.' Neon thought as he continued looking around the mall.

* * *

After an hour of aimlessly walking about, Neon was about to lose it before he saw a certain antiques shop which caught his attention.

"Dragon's Antique Shop. Interesting enough for me." Neon said as he made his way towards it. He entered and was very intrigued by the interesting pieces of antiques on the shelves and the how well organised the shop was.

"Welcome can I help you?"

Neon turned to his right to see a the owner of the shop, a young man in his early twenties with brown hair tied in a pony-tail, green eyes and looked to be in his physical peak. The green eyes especially got his attention as he thought that they were dragon's eyes.

The man in front of him had looked at his new customer and was surprised though he did a good job of hiding it. He came out of the back of the store after the bells rung to signal the person's arrival but did not expect the man in front of him to be the one who had arrived.

"Just looking around for now." Neon answered after getting out of his stupor, "You have quite the interesting and rare antiques you know, and you definitely know how to run your store."

"Thank you very much, sir. I am responsible for my store and I run it properly like a professional. Anyways let me know if you need help." The shop owner said before going to the counter.

Neon looked around the shelves of the shop, looking for something to that interests him or as a souvenir. He found a small sculpture of a silver dragon which he definitely wanted to buy and took it from the shelf and went to the counter.

"I see that you have an interest in dragons." The shop owner said.

"Yes I can say that I'm intrigued by them as they are quite the unique and regal creatures. Especially considering that you have the eyes of one to say the least." Neon said, "Right, Ryu Hayabusa?"

A silencing seal was cast in the store as the man now revealed as Ryu Hayabusa had a serious look on his face while Neon kept his neutral look and both folded their arms.

"That's so that no one eavesdrops on us." Ryu said.

"I **painfully, obviously **know that Dragon Ninja." Neon said, "And may I know what you want to talk about?"

"Who are you and what is your business in this tournament?"

"You know my name already but I'll reintroduce myself anyways. Name's NEON 'GRIM' CROSS and I'm nothing more than a lone drifter. As for why I'm in the tournament, that's for the fun of it as I entered it out of boredom and what better way to get rid of it than to fight some hopefully decent opponents. May I know why you want to know?"

"I wanted to know for myself who you are and whether you were a threat or not since you are bit of an enigma coming into the tournament."

"You as a ninja already know how useful information can be and I don't intend to just tell you everything about me and I trust that you won't push the issue since I have every reason to keep my secrets to myself and a few people."

"Okay one more question, are you sided with DOATEC or not?"

"Why the hell would I be affiliated with that company? I sure as hell have no reason to be working with them."

"Forgive me if I don't trust your words like that."

"I don't care if you trust me or not. I prefer to let my actions do the talking not my mouth."

"I see. Well don't be surprised if Hayate confronts you to get answers for himself, since he doesn't trust you or like you at all and Ayane seems to hate you already."

"I don't care if Hayate and Ayane have their issues with me but if they think that they can intimidate me then they are in for a rude wake-up call."

"I see..."

"How about you Hayabusa?" Neon asked, "Do you see me as a potential threat or ally?"

"While you may be secretive about yourself I can tell that you are definitely not an enemy." Ryu answered, "But you also seem to be neutral in all this."

"You are right about that, Ryu, I don't want to be involved in anything that has nothing to do with me. I just wanna win this damn tournament and get on with my life."

"I hope you get to do that Neon, but a word of advice, watch your back because there is trouble just around the corner."

"You don't have to tell me. I already know that firsthand but thanks anyway for the warning."

The silence seal went down and Ryu went back to his shop owner role, "Okay that will be 350 yen please."

"Here you go. Have a nice day, sir." Neon said, as a happy customer.

"Same to you."

Neon got his purchase in a box and left the antiques shop. As he went past it he detected another presence and just grinned before he continued on his way.

* * *

**20:11 hrs at a random park**

Neon was at the park going through his motions and keeping his skills sharp for tomorrow's match. He is also thinking about his match with Hitomi, whom he had sparred with earlier.

'Hitomi's a karate fighter and from my spar with her on the ship I can tell that she's really good. Plus since that sparring match she'd have an idea of how to fight me so I'll have to change my approach.'

Neon then spends an hour fighting with an imaginary opponent. While this may seem insane to some people, it is a way that he has used to practice his martial arts and prepare for opponents if he can't find a sparring partner. After he was done he felt that he'd done it things right.

'Well I'm ready for you, Hitomi. You'd better be ready for me too. Let's give the fans a show they'll never forget.'

Meanwhile somewhere else Hitomi was thinking the exact same thing.

'I am ready for you Neon. Don't hold back on me because I won't.'

* * *

**Next day, 13:00 hrs, DWA Ring**

The crowd were excited as the upcoming match was about to begin between the Karate black belt Hitomi and the Freestyle fighter Neon Cross. The ninjas were on the top of the arena watching from above though Kasumi was hidden behind the lights, Jann Lee, Lei Fang, Zack, Kokoro, Eliot, Lisa and Helena were in the seats with the crowd. Everyone waited for the two contestants to arrive.

Fortunately they didn't wait long as both fighters made their way to the octagon for their big match to get closer to the top.

Hitomi is in her white karate gi, with a black belt on her waist and a black tube top underneath the gi.

Neon was in a black fishnet shirt, black and white MMA trunks with orange trims, white MMA style fight gloves and his feet in wrappings.

As they both entered the octagon both had their focus on each other and those present could see their determination on their faces. The announcer looked at the both of them before he got things underway.

"THE SECOND FIGHT OF THE QUARTERFINALS IS ABOUT TO BEGIN! FIGHTERS TAKE YOUR POSITIONS!"

Both fighters took their fighting stances. Hitomi in her karate stance and Neon smacked both of his fists against each other and got into his upright orthodox stance.

"Osu! Show me what you got Neon!"

"Alright Hitomi, let's dance!"

**GET READY...FIGHT!**

Neon rushed at Hitomi with a three punch combination which Hitomi parried before retaliating with her own three punch combo, backing Neon off. Undeterred Neon charged right back into the fray with a straight, left elbow, right body blow, and left leg kick combo which Hitomi defended.

Neon continued with a triple elbow rush combo forcing Hitomi to cover up, allowing him to get the Thai plum and attack with quick and sharp knees to her body. Hitomi defended against them and pushed Neon off and attacked with a 1-2 roundhouse kick combo, with the strikes being dodged but the kick partially blocked. She threw a right spinning back kick which Neon ducked under and followed up with a right snap kick that hit his body and pushed him back. Neon then came back with a feint step left roundhouse kick that Hitomi evaded. Neon switches to southpaw.

They moved around the ring, with Neon stalking Hitomi. She was using feint steps to her sides to bait him and not get cornered but he was not biting. Neon then fired off a left front kick which Hitomi blocked while narrowly avoiding the follow-up right spinning back fist and getting away from the ropes. Neon continued to walk Hitomi down, pumping his left jabs and the occasional overhand which the girl avoided. He then threw a jab-right leg kick combo which Hitomi countered with a well timed straight while he threw the kick, dropping him on his behind. Neon popped back up immediately.

Neon lunged in with a hook but Hitomi dodges and counters with a four punch combo with the fourth one dropping Neon but he springs back to his feet while smirking.

Hitomi launched a right head kick but Neon caught it and tripped her to the canvas. She manages to get up before Neon could pounce.

Both fighters connect with a right rolling sobat/left spinning back kick to the body. Neon lands a 1-2 combo that snaps Hitomi's head back and she retaliates with a straight to left snap kick to the body combo. Neon throws a left head kick which is blocked and launches a slashing right flying knee that Hitomi steps away from.

Hitomi steps in and gets a hold of Neon's arm and throws him to the canvas while still maintaining her grip. Before she could follow-up with a knee strike Neon escapes from the hold and gets back up. Hitomi throws a left hook which he ducks under and puts his left arm under her outstretched arm and across her neck before tripping her with a osoto gari throw. A scramble ensues and both are back to their feet.

Hitomi dashes in and fires off a three punch combo which Neon ducks under. She then follows up with a seoi nage throw but Neon denies her and kicks her off him. Hitomi throws a body straight but gets dropped by a standing knee from Neon. She manages to scramble up but finds herself in the Thai plum. She manages to whip herself around and breaks from his grip while avoiding a knee to her head.

Neon rushes Hitomi with a straight, left body blow, right leg kick combo. She blocks the punches then checks the leg kick and counters with a right reverse elbow that staggers Neon but then he immediately stops her follow-up with a reverse elbow that staggers her. Hitomi recovers quickly and launches a jumping knee which Neon catches and slams her down on the canvas. A scramble ensues and both return to standing position.

Neon switches to orthodox again as Hitomi circles away from him. He rushes in with a flurry of strikes but Hitomi parries and drops Neon with a left hook that sends him flying to the side. Neon manages to recover as Hitomi followed after him and he backs her off with a 1-2 head kick.

Hitomi throws a straight right which Neon counters with a left overhand that stuns her and sends her stumbling back across the ring with Neon chasing after her. He corners her on the ropes and cuts loose with a flurry of punches as Hitomi cover ups while trapped on the ropes.

The fans are going wild thinking that a finish is about to come, however Hayate looks on with a worry on his face. Then the momentum shifts as Hitomi manages to pick the right time and cracks Neon with a counter left hook, dropping him on one knee and she reverses the position and fires off her own flurry. Neon though doesn't back down and fires back at her with his own flurry. The wild exchange on the ropes sends the crowd into a frenzy. They get even more excited when Hitomi drops Neon with a right hook during the exchange, dropping him on all fours. Before she can follow up Neon grabs her left leg and rushes for a single leg takedown. Hitomi defends well and slips out of his grasp, but that was enough for Neon to get the stars out of his vision and back to his feet.

Hitomi runs and leaps in with a flying kick which Neon sidesteps out of the way of. She throws a back kick to the head but misses by a mile. Neon lands a left snap kick to the body and then adds a switch-right kick which is blocked. Then he throws a flurry of punches which are easily blocked, but that was to make it easier to land a leg kick. He then adds another high low combo after.

Both move back to the center of the ring with visible signs of damage on them. Hitomi has cuts under her eyes. Her left feeling heavy and barely able to stand on it. Neon has a broken nose and a cut under his left eye. Neon switches to southpaw and then suddenly drops Hitomi with a superman punch, putting her on her back. Neon immediately pounces and begins throwing down ferocious ground and pound. Hitomi covers up for a while before pushing him off of her and getting back to her feet.

Neon walks Hitomi down to the corner. Hitomi fires off a quick punch kick combo. Neon blocks them and returns fire with a body kick before stepping in with a straight. Hitomi parries the punch and lands a counter uppercut that stuns Neon and makes him stagger back. Hitomi attempts to blitz him but gets dropped by Neon's left check hook as she rushed in. The crowd is once more on their feet and going nuts as he then rushes on top of her and pounds away with hammer fists seeking a finish but Hitomi still manages to defend herself from the onslaught.

Unfortunately she leaves her neck out and Neon wastes no time latching on and sinking in an arm-in guillotine choke before he sitting on his back. Hitomi is desperately defending against the submission but Neon maintains his hold and cranks harder until she stops struggling and goes limp from the submission. Seeing that Neon immediately lets go of Hitomi and pushes her body off him. The announcer sees that she's out and ends the match.

**"WINNER!"**

"Damn, Hitomi! That was one hell of a crazy fight."

The medics came to check on the unconscious Hitomi as Neon stayed with them waiting for her to recover. She regains consciousness a minute later and sees the faces of the medics and a relieved Neon.

"Awww! I lost!" Hitomi lamented.

"Don't get too upset over it, Hitomi." Neon said, "You nearly had me there too you know. Thanks for really pushing me to there."

Hitomi managed to help herself up but stumbled a bit before Neon caught her.

"Easy there. Your leg's still banged up, don't rush it." One of medics warned.

"How about getting both of us to the hospital if you don't mind?" Neon asked.

"Yeah, we definitely need to patch up our injuries and get our heads checked since we both got our clocks cleaned!" Hitomi added.

"Exactly! AHAHHAHAHAHA!"

Both of Hitomi and Neon laughed as they were brought to the ambulance on stretchers and taken to the hospital to treat their wounds and recover from the crazy fight.

"That was one CRAZY FIGHT!" Zack shouted, "They sure got the crowd on their feet!"

"That was very exciting. I admit that the fight was breathtaking." Lisa said.

"I agree. That was a great performance from both of them." Helena said.

"Started technical before it went completely wild." Lei Fang commented, "What do you think Jann Lee?"

"It was...entertaining to say the least." Jann Lee answered.

"Both gave their all and pushed each other to the brink!" Kokoro exclaimed in excitement.

"Hitomi-san fought well but Neon-san fought even harder. The finish especially was a shocker." Eliot said in awe.

Kasumi was glad that Neon won the fight as she nearly had fainted after he was hurt and nearly finished. Ayane was pouting because she was hoping for Hitomi to win and put Neon in his place but didn't get the desired result. Hayate was not happy about the finish as he nearly lost it when Hitomi went limp but calmed down when he saw her recover and Neon actually concerned for her health. Ryu Hayabusa remained indifferent to it all but deep down was glad that Hitomi was alright, because if not Hayate would no doubt have gone after Neon's head.

Meanwhile somewhere else a certain individual wearing a black suit and a lab coat is in an office and had just finished watching the 'fireworks'. A huge smile came on the person's face, impressed with Neon's hard fought victory and abilities he displayed.

"Looks like she is correct about him. I may have found just the perfect person to help with the next stage of the Alpha project."

* * *

**Chapter 6 End.**


	8. Truth Underneath the Mask

**Dead or Alive- Dark Horse**

**Disclaimer: I do not own the Dead or Alive series, the only thing I own is my OC.**

**Truth Underneath the Mask**

* * *

After their exciting battle, Neon and Hitomi had been admitted into the Tokyo Hospital to treat their wounds that they inflicted on each other during the match.

Hitomi's left leg was still sore from Neon's leg kicks, the cuts under her eyes were had been treated. Neon also had his cuts treated and his nose was now held in place and bandaged. They both had to take painkillers for their major headaches thanks to clocking each other during the fight. All in all they had been in the hospital for three days and are on their way back to 100%.

Both of them had also gotten visitors. Neon was visited by Kasumi, Ryu Hayabusa, funny enough, Jann Lee, Lisa and ridiculously enough Christie, though Neon had to keep her at 'arm's length' for his own health and sanity. Hitomi was visited by Lei Fang, Kokoro, Eliot, Hayate, Ayane and Zack.

* * *

**09:00 hrs on a street in Tokyo.**

Both fighters were finally allowed to check out of the hospital and they both went their separate ways. Along the way to the hotel he sensed the presence of someone he already knew following him, so he chose to lead the person to an alley where he could to them face to face.

"Hey, Kasumi. You can come down now." Neon called out.

Said person gracefully landed in front of him and stood up. She is wearing a blue ninja dress with white trimming, blue greaves, blue and white gloves. She also had a wakizashi in a red sheath behind her waist. While looking at her, Neon managed to get a peek at her chest and turned away in embarrassment. Kasumi didn't miss that and wondered why.

"Um...Neon-san? Are you feeling unwell?" she asked.

"Is that how Mugen Tenshin kunoichi normally dress or do I have to keep you at arm's length in case you wanna use your assets against me?!" Neon exclaimed.

"Huh?! What do you mean?"

"Your outfit and the fact that kunoichi use their assets as weapons. Or am I just going crazy?"

"Hahahahaha! You're funny Neon and I'm not here to kill you."

"Reeaally?"

"Of course. I am being truthful with you now."

"I know you are, because if you were lying to me I'd see through it already."

Kasumi chuckled at that and was about to say something but stopped when she saw Neon's green eye turn red to match the other one.

"We've got company." Neon said. Kasumi nodded to acknowledge before they both vanished into air and sakura petals as kunais and shurikens landed at the spot they were standing in and five ninjas in black ninja garments landed.

"Damn it! We missed!" said the leader of the group, "They haven't gone far, move...AARRGH!"

A switch blade was stabbed into the ninja's shoulder from behind. The other ninjas turned in his direction before two of them got holes in the heads, courtesy of bullets, one got a kunai to the head and the last one had some weight drop on him. Looking up he saw the orange-haired kunoichi with her wakizashi to his throat before she finally silenced him for good.

"Forgive me." Kasumi said after she flicked the blood off her weapon before sheathing it.

"They don't deserve an apology Kasumi." Neon said as he holstered his gun while still holding his switchblade that was still in the remaining ninja's shoulder who was in pain and restrained.

"They were only doing what they were ordered to, it's not their fault that I have to kill them." Kasumi said again.

Turning his attention to his prisoner Neon twisted his knife, causing the ninja to grunt in pain before he spoke. "Who sent you? Answer quickly..."

"My brother sent them. They are Mugen Tenshin ninja sent to kill me." Kasumi interrupted.

Neon's red eyes flashed as he choked out the ninja and let him drop in an unconscious heap and then pull out his Glock 17.

"You'll be my messenger to that "waste of space" of a leader." he said as he unloaded the rest of the clip into the body, reloaded then did it again before he reloaded one last time and holstered his gun as his left eye turned to its original green.

"Was that really necessary, Neon?" Kasumi asked.

"Yes. It was. To send a clear message to your moronic brother!" Neon answered with spite.

"That seemed more like overkill to me." Kasumi said.

"Like I care about that. Anyways, let's dispose of the bodies except this one. He needs to see it."

The duo gathered the other four bodies and put them in a heap. Kasumi then pulled off some seals and burnt the bodies. Then the two of them left the alley, and went down the street.

"So Kasumi, how long do you plan on running from your family and village?" Neon asked.

"I don't know. I honestly haven't had the time to think about it. Also I have unfinished business with DOATEC." Kasumi answered.

"DOATEC huh? So they're on your shit list?"

"Not exactly. Someone in it though is on that list."

"Donovan, right?"

"Yes."

"I see. Well since it has nothing to do with me I won't involve myself."

Kasumi looked at him with a deadpanned expression. "What do you mean by that?"

"Simple. This is your own problem and not mine. I won't get involved." Neon said bluntly.

"I don't know about that. Considering the fact that you're in the semi-finals of the tournament he'd definitely have an eye on you now." Kasumi pointed out.

"He can look at me all he wants! I won't bother myself with him until he tries something stupid. Then I'll erase him from the face of the earth."

Kasumi just sighed and face palmed.

"Neon-san, can I ask you something?"

"What is it, Kasumi?"

"Why did your green eye turn red?"

"You saw that huh, you remember the Bounty Rook project I was subjected through?" Kasumi nodded. "Well that was it kicking in to boost my abilities a bit whenever a threat shows up or when I'm pissed off."

"Do you have control over it?" Kasumi asked with concern.

"I do. I've been able to suppress it for as long as I can remember through willpower. I can limit how much of its power is released since I'd rather rely on my own skills."

"Okay but how come you used that power then and how much did you use?"

"I only used 10% of it and as for why it was used, well it's a bit of a contingency that was programmed to kick in whenever danger is nearby."

"How come you haven't used it in the tournament? With it you could easily win this tournament."

"Like I said I'd rather use my own abilities than that of the Bounty Rook. Besides if I did use it, it'll be boring as I wipe the floor with everyone I fight including you or the other ninjas."

"Really?! And what of your Bushinryu?"

"I told you unless someone pushes me enough I'll bust it out on them and so far no one has but I know someone that I'll have to use it on: Hayabusa."

"Ryu?!"

"Yes. That guy is on a whole different level as a ninja. No wonder why he's called a super ninja, and honestly, I look forward to fighting him."

Kasumi just rolled her eyes.

"Well anyways I gotta go. See you later." Neon said as he ran off.

Kasumi sighed, "I hope he knows that Hayate's not happy about us together." Then she vanished too.

Ridiculously enough, Hayate had been watching them from a good distance, not when they killed those ninjas in the alley, but when they were walking together and talking. He definitely was not happy about Neon being with his sister especially since he hadn't been able to get any info about him ever since he showed up.

"Hayate."

"What is it Ayane ?"

"Ryu wants to see us both. He said that he has managed to uncover some information about Neon."

Hayate's face had a huge grin on it after he heard that. Now he'd know about who Neon Cross is and whether he's an enemy or friend.

**12:05 hrs at an undisclosed area**

Hayate and Ayane had arrived, meeting Ryu and a woman they hadn't seen before wearing a brown jacket, red shirt, black trousers and boots, using a rock as a makeshift chair with a laptop on her lap. Ryu got straight to the matter at hand.

"Hayate, Ayane, good of you to get here. This is Irene Lew of the CIA, and she has some information you'd like to hear. But before that I'd like to tell you what I found about out about Neon Cross."

"What did you find out?" Hayate asked.

"He's no ordinary individual. In fact he instantly knew who I am when he came to my store. He even knew about the silence seal I put up." Ryu began, "I'd say he's a ninja or someone who knows about ninjitsu."

"I already had that suspicion, Master Ryu." Ayane said, "I've seen him take down four people who were sent to capture him and he did it with brutal efficiency like a ninja. Hell, I won't be surprised if he's a ninja."

"He's also able to easily sense us when we're nearby or even watched." Hayate added, "But so can Bayman, Christie and even Jann Lee. What else?"

"He claimed to be neither friend nor foe and wants nothing to do with DOATEC or our mission to destroy the company. He's only here for the tournament." Ryu continued, "He doesn't even care if we trust him or not and would prefer to let his actions do the talking."

Ayane scoffed "Well he'd better care because if he gets in our way he's as good as dead."

"Anyways... What does your friend Irene have for us?" Hayate asked.

"Information I managed to dig up about the man Neon 'Grim' Cross." Irene answered, "Information that wasn't easy to get and could have gotten me in a lot of trouble if caught."

"Really? Where did you get this 'dangerous' info from?" Ayane asked.

"This was from UN's database." Irene answered.

"The United Nations? What do they have to do with Neon?" Hayate asked.

"He's apparently one of their best kept secrets that was only known by a few in the UN: The Secretary-General, UN Chief of Security and a certain scientist who was running the project he was involved in, Project Bounty Rook."

"Project Bounty Rook?! Who came up with that corny name?" Ayane scoffed.

"The scientist who ran it: Dr. Mako Yashiro. She was labelled a prodigy to her peers and teachers back in Japan where she graduated with a PhD in Genetics at the age of 16. But she was also a bit of a nutcase to some. Project Bounty Rook was a secret project that was meant to create the ultimate weapon for counter-terrorism ops."

"Ultimate weapon?" Hayate asked.

"Yes. Neon was taken in at a very young age and was found compatible for the project then experimented on to became the perfect weapon for UN. One with no emotions and with loyalty to only the UN. A mindless weapon."

"Reminds me of Project Epsilon." Hayate said.

"Yes, just like Project Epsilon but even more efficient." Irene continued, "Neon gained a high reputation as a deadly, efficient lone-wolf operative, having single handily made entire terrorist cells disappear from the face of the Earth, leaving no trace of them, rescuing a large number of hostages and even assassinating key targets. Hell no one knew what he looked like as he was a ghost to everyone, leaving no trace of himself."

"Wow! I'd say that he's very much like you Master Ryu." Ayane exclaimed.

"I'd say that I agree with Ayane here. Except his enemies are more human." Hayate added.

"True, and if he's like me, he must have a lot of enemies." Ryu said, "How did he leave anyways? There's no way he'd just get up and leave one day and not be stopped by those involved with the Project Bounty Rook."

"Based on the report here, he'd somehow regained his memories and emotions back after one of his therapy sessions. They tried to erase them but that resulted in his escape from the secret facility he was kept in and the death of the 21 personnel that were there. All that led to the sudden end of the project by the Secretary-General and Chief of Security, followed by the sudden disappearance of Mako Yashiro who was not happy about Neon's escape. Efforts were made to find and retrieve him but he disappeared from the grid just like that."

"And now he's reappeared again and no doubt he's in the cross-hairs of that Dr. Yashiro who no doubt sent hunters to capture him once more or worse, Donovan." Hayate concluded, "Even more reason to not trust him especially around Kasumi."

"He's been around Kasumi!?" Ayane shouted, "Now I want to kill him even more!"

"That won't be wise." Ryu warned, "Like I mentioned earlier he's been neutral so far and if you go after him, you'd most likely regret it."

"Are you expecting me to leave that man alone?! From the way I see it he's just as big of a threat as Donovan and DOATEC or worse!" Hayate argued.

"No. I'm warning you to not antagonize Neon at all and keep your distance from him." Ryu said sternly, "You've heard the information Irene got about him. You also know how good he is in combat during the tournament and I still feel like he's been holding back all this time."

"Either way, there's no way I'd trust him. I'll first give him a warning and if he doesn't listen he'll be dealt with." Hayate said, "Ayane, we're leaving."

"Yes, Hayate." Ayane said before she and Hayate shunsined away.

Irene sighed as she closed up her laptop "Why do I have a bad feeling that they are going to end up in a bloody mess when they meet that guy?"

"It's because they are going to regret going after him." Ryu bluntly said, "I'll have to go and keep them from getting killed anyways."

* * *

**Chapter 7 End.**


	9. Shadow of Bushinryu

**Dead or Alive- Dark Horse**

**Disclaimer: I do not own the Dead or Alive series, the only thing I own is my OC.**

**Shadow of Bushinryu**

* * *

**07:30 hrs Tokyo, Japan**

Neon Cross is in his hotel room, on the phone with three people he hadn't heard from in six years after his escape from the secret Bounty Rook facility he had been kept in.

The first is Jake 'Red' Lewis, an ex-Delta Force soldier, an ex-NATO ranger, retired Vale Tudo fighter, his godfather and the UN Chief of Security and former superior. He was Neon's father's best friend ever since their service in NATO's counter-terrorism unit.

Second is Ron Russell, Red's nephew, a member of the counter-terrorism unit UNWOP, a brother figure and was sometimes his support during some of his missions as the Bounty Rook. It was he whom found out his identity and informed his uncle about him before he made plans to get him out of the accursed project.

The last person is Dr. Dunnan Vela, the psychiatrist who helped him to become human again through her effective therapy.

"It's been a long time you three. I hope you're all okay." Neon began.

_"I'm good but still getting a freaking' migraine with all the damn paperwork that is dumped on front of me almost every time."_ Red shouted.

_"I'm alright and been having fun training new recruits."_ Ron said excitedly, _"Great to hear from you."_

_"Thank goodness you're okay Neon. I'm also doing well especially with my new job at a hospital." _Dr. Vela said.

"So has anything new come up?" Neon asked.

_"Someone tried to hack into the UN database."_ Red said in a serious tone.

"Really? Someone must have guts to pull off that suicidal stunt."

_"No kidding. Problem for them was that we already know who they are and where they tried to do it from."_ Ron added.

"Then they are officially fucked. Who's the unlucky individual?"

_"Someone from the CIA."_ Red said in disgust, _"Those shit bags really think they can do whatever they want without consequences."_

_"I agree with Red here."_ Dr. Vela said, _"They need a wake up call."_

"True. Anyways what's the hacker's name?" Neon asked.

_"Irene Lew."_ Ron said.

"Irene Lew huh? I know that name."

_"You do? How?"_ Dr. Vela asked.

"I met her more than enough times during my drifting around the world that it's no coincidence. Plus she's a good friend of Ryu Hayabusa, a participant in the DOA tournament."

_"Ryu Hayabusa? The super ninja? That's quite a friend she's gotten there."_ Red said.

"Did she even succeed in getting what she wanted?"

_"No. More like we gave them to her with a warning that if that info got into the wrong hands then she's dead meat."_

"Was that info on The Bounty Rook Project?"

_"Yes. While I hate the CIA a lot, they are still some of the people there who are trustworthy enough especially when one of them is a pal of a ninja like Hayabusa."_

"I hope that trust isn't misplaced since the CIA are like the snake."

_"No worries Neon. If she double crosses us then she's going down."_ Ron stated.

"Alright. Now you all wanna know how I'm doing especially with the DOA 4 tournament?" Neon asked.

_"Yes/Yeah/Of course."_

"I've had a good life ever since I left that hell hole six years ago thanks to you three and that I'm grateful for. Drifting about the place and helping out here and there has been great. Then out of boredom I entered the DOA 4 tournament and I'm now in the semis. However Mako Yashiro has found me and has tried to get me back."

"..."

_"You've gotta be kidding me!"_

_"Not good, you've been found out now. What will you do?" _

_"Is she doing this on her own or with someone's support?"_ Red spoke up.

"I couldn't say when she sent bounty hunters after me earlier that I eliminated but from what I uncovered from a few people I'd say that she'd more than likely be working with Victor Donovan of DOATEC who's one nasty lunatic." Neon said, "Does Project Epsilon ring a bell to any of you?"

_"The vile shit that's almost similar to that Bounty Rook project? Yep it rings too many bells!"_ Red said, _"My undercover agents in DOATEC got that info before I pulled them out."_

_"So that bastard wants to create the ultimate soldier and now he's working with that bitch Mako! Damn it!"_ Ron shouted.

_"Worse Donovan most likely has you in his cross-hairs now."_ Dr. Vela added.

"I know he does and not only me, he also has Hayabusa and the Mugen Tenshin ninjas too gunning for him." Neon stated.

_"Not surprising especially since the leader Hayate and his sister Kasumi the runaway ninja were especially involved in the lunatic's project."_ Red said.

"Not to mention that Hayate and Ayane seem to have issues with me for no reason and I have a feeling that they'll want to deal with me first before DOATEC. Hayabusa's on the sidelines about me until he sees for himself if I'm trouble or not and Kasumi seems to trust me and has been unusually concerned for me. Heck she even knows I'm the current master of Bushinryu Ninpo."

_"That shouldn't be surprising."_ Dr. Vela pointed out, _"Since she's a runaway ninja she'd most likely heard of Bushinryu or even seen someone who practiced it."_

"Point taken there. So what about Mako Yashiro and DOATEC?" Neon asks, "Will you deal with them or does it fall to me to do so?"

_"You don't answer to me anymore Neon."_ Red stated, _"It's up to you if you want to get involved in this or not, just be careful about Code: Rook and utilize it at the utmost discretion."_

"I knew you were gonna say that and besides I am already gonna get involved due to Hayate's ninjas trying to kill me even though he didn't know that then but he'd know that by now and from there I'll be involved in their war against DOATEC."

_"Neon how much control do you have of Code:Bounty Rook?"_ Dr. Vela asked.

"I can now utilize up to 75% without losing it by just willpower alone." Neon answered, "However anymore than that and I go Tasmanian Devil."

_"Let's just hope that you don't have to utilize more than that." _Ron mentions, _"It'll be hell to get you back to normal after all the carnage you'd unleash."_

_"Well then good luck to you Neon, in the tournament and in dealing with DOATEC."_ Red says, _"Just don't make too much of a mess that would be traced back to you."_

"I can't make promises on that Red but I'll do my best." Neon said before he ends the call.

'Looks like it's time for The Bounty Rook to return to the fray. The kid gloves are officially off.'

* * *

**12:00 hrs Tokyo, Japan**

Standing on a building is a man wearing a white body suit that looks almost like a special ops suit, with matching gloves, boots and a scarf around his neck. On his left thigh is a gun holster with a Glock 17 pistol in it.

He's casually watching the city with his back to the wall and at the same time has his senses working to make sure nothing sneaks up on him. So far nothing unusual was going on but the man clearly had no sign of boredom on him as he maintained his watch before he decided to move on.

Jumping to another building the man easily made his landing and he crouched down to scan the area below him. As he stood up he managed to pick up the sound of three projectiles flying towards him, and in one quick motion he drew out his gun, blasted the projectiles away and holstered his weapon as a smirk came on his face.

'So they've finally found me. They sure took their sweet time...well that was due to me not letting them detect me to begin with. Time to humor them.'

The man led his pursuers from rooftop to rooftop, through the city, leading them on a wild goose chase around the area. He'd sensed four very familiar people chasing him, two of them with bad intentions, one of them neutral and the last one with worry in them. He decides to end the chase and lands on a balcony of a traditional Japanese building with a Ninja-esque theme. He enters through the wooden doors and waits in one of the rooms for his pursuers to arrive.

Standing in front of him are Ayane, who's wearing a pink-and-purple patterned dress with red rope ties, matching purple sleeves and stockings, and ankle boots, and Hayate wearing his white shozoku with black mesh shirt underneath, a dark blue headband on his forehead and two swords on his back and behind his waist. Ayane's looking at him with sadistic smirk on her face and Hayate has only a calm, serious look on him.

"About time you two caught up, I thought I was gonna lose you too easily." The man deadpanned.

Ayane scoffed, "You wish, Neon. Like you can escape from us."

"If I wanted to leave you two in the dust I'd have easily done it." Neon stated, "So what do you want from me, Hayate, 18th Master of the Mugen Tenshin Ninja Clan ?"

"Neon 'Grim' Cross, 42nd Master of Bushinryu Ninpo or may I say UN's best kept secret, The Bounty Rook." Hayate said.

"Hold on! He's the 42nd Master of Bushinryu Ninpo?! No way!" Ayane exclaimed.

"Yes I am the Bounty Rook though I no longer work for UN and the only reason why you even know that is because you were allowed to, Miss Lew is now tredding on thin ice with the UN." Neon said, "As for the Bushinryu I became the current master by defeating the 41st Master, who was my mother in combat. So no need to be surprised kunoichi."

"I see. Anyways Neon, I want you to stay away from Kasumi." Hayate demanded.

"No." Neon bluntly stated.

Hayate growled. Ayane was shaking her head and Ryu Hayabusa had just arrived and could tell that the situation could get ugly.

"I'll only say this once, stay away from my sister!"

"Oh so now she's your sister. That's rich coming from you and last time I checked you wanted her dead, you spineless fool!"

"What was that?!"

"I don't need to repeat myself. You were more than happy to be a bitch of that council of yours and send ninjas to kill your own sibling! You couldn't even grow a fucking spine and put your foot down and let those assholes know that you're the boss and handle Kasumi's situation your own way. You disgust me, you waste of space!"

Before any retort could be made Hayate found himself flying to the end of the other room before his back made impact with the wall and slumped down. Ayane was shocked as all she could see is Neon standing at Hayate's spot with his left leg extended. Ryu and Kasumi barely saw Neon close the distance, turn around and deliver a powerful back kick that sent Hayate flying back.

"Ayane, Master of the Hajinmon Sect, you're just as bad as him!" Neon spoke, "You were born into the world as a pariah thanks to a bastard who's burning in hell where he belongs but yet you decide to be a petty bitch because of Kasumi's status as a princess in the village? Pathetic!"

"You know nothing about me!" Ayane shouted, "You don't know what it's like...Oooff!" She was cut off by a knee to her solar plexus by Neon who had an indifferent face on him.

"You're correct. Although Kasumi told me about you I still don't know everything about you but I also know what it's like to have to deal with shit beyond your control." Neon said and then toss her into the other room with ease, "I never asked to become The Bounty Rook, the ultimate soldier, a mindless weapon and if I really had any say I'd turn it all down and enjoy a normal life."

Neon is then on the defensive as Hayate had recovered from the initial kick and rushed at him throwing a flurry of strikes at him. Much to the Mugen Tenshin leader's surprise, the Bushinryu master was easily elbow blocking his attacks before ending up on the receiving end of a barrage of kicks to his head, body and legs before a left sobat sent him flying back into the other room again.

Neon then caught Ayane's spin kick that was aimed at the side of his head and lifted her off the ground leaving her hanging upside down in shock. Next he savagely kicked her head five times before throwing her at a charging Hayate that had to stop to catch her. Before Hayate could react Neon rushed at him and dropkicked him in the face sending both ninjas towards the balcony.

When they both got to their feet they saw Neon standing some distance from them, with his arms folded staring at them like an eagle ready to swoop in on its prey. "What the hell just happened? Did he just make us look like genin?" Ayane said. "He's not even breaking a sweat Ayane." Hayate stated, "He's clearly not fighting the way he's been fighting in the tournament."

"Congratulations for figuring that out! Someone give him a prize." Neon mocked, "Unfortunately this is getting boring and unless you two do something to turn up the heat, I'll be putting an end to this joke of a fight!"

"Turn up the heat!? I'll do more than that I'll burn you away when I'm through with you!" Ayane shouted as she charged right at Neon, attacking with strikes, spinning about like a mini-tornado. "Great. She's like a female Tasmanian devil." Neon sighed. Hayate too joined her with his onslaught of attacks. Ryu and Kasumi were surprised at what they're seeing as it looked like Neon was indifferent to the tag team onslaught from both Ayane and Hayate as he easily dodged and blocked their attacks.

Ayane and Hayate were getting frustrated at their inability to land a hit, and they kept up their pace and finally landed a kick and punch respectively on Neon's face which had an unimpressed look on it.

"You two bakas finally satisfied?! Because that was free!" Neon mocked as his two opponents leap back from him. He cracked his neck before glaring at them with both of his eyes red, "I was hoping that you two attacking me at the same time would be at least fun but your frustration pissed me off and so we're done here." Neon became a blur as he rushed at Ayane and Hayate, who were stunned at his speed and then viciously pummeled them senseless before sending both helpless ninjas crashing through the balcony and falling to the ground below them. Luckily Ryu caught both of them before they could land on the hard floor. Ayane was out cold and Hayate was barely conscious.

Neon shunsined in front of them and stood there relaxed and indifferent. Then he looked up at a building where Kasumi is standing on the rooftop staring into his red and green eyes in terror. He then stared back at the three ninjas in front of him.

"Hayate...You may have known already that I killed a few of your ninjas who tried to kill me and Kasumi. Whether you knew that they did or not doesn't matter as it's a clear that you picked a fight with me. Since you read my file you should know that I can easily wipe you, Ayane and the whole Mugen Tenshin clan from the face of the Earth if I want." Neon said, "However I am letting you all know that I'm going to assist your attack on DOATEC but for my own reasons like you all have. And finally if any of you or your ninjas dare come after me again, your lives are forfeit and it's not a threat but a promise. You've been warned."

Neon then focused his attention at Ryu with a smirk on his face "By the way Ryu Hayabusa I look forward to fighting you in the tournament and also tell your friend Irene Lew that she's on thin ice with the UN since the individual there who allowed her to get my file has a grudge with the CIA and only trusts her with it because he trusts you to make sure she doesn't screw up or else she'll be dead meat. So sayonara to you all and good day." Neon did a two finger salute before he shunsined from the area leaving the ninjas alone.

* * *

**18:00 hrs at the DOA dome**

Neon is on the center stage with three others that had made it to the semi finals with him: Jann Lee who had beaten Lei Fang, Ryu Hayabusa who had beaten Bayman and Kasumi who had beaten Ayane. He was happy that the two people he wanted to fight with were at here and he had a chance to end up fighting one of them in the semi finals and the finals but he also knew that he'd fight Kasumi who he'd been able get along with but still be cautious with because of her fear of him losing himself and causing damage to himself and anyone around him. He pushed those thoughts to the back of his head as he tuned out the announcer and waited in anticipation for who he'd fight next as the screen above them began to show the semifinal match ups.

* * *

**Chapter 8 End.**


	10. Ayane's Humble Pie & The Sadistic Rook

**Dead or Alive- Dark Horse**

**Disclaimer: I do not own the Dead or Alive series, the only thing I own is my OC.**

**Ayane's Humble Pie and The Sadistic Bounty Rook**

* * *

**Neon 'Grim' Cross vs Kasumi**

**Jann Lee vs Ryu Hayabusa**

_'...'_

_'Neon...'_

_'So I get Hayabusa...good, though I was hoping for Neon to be my opponent.'_

_'Kasumi be careful and you too Neon.'_

Neon could only look at the match-ups in silence but within he was gradually getting pissed off at the pairings. 'What the flipping' fuck!? Of all the people to fight I had to get Kasumi?! Oh well, no point crying over spilled milk. I have a fight to win.'

* * *

**21:00 hrs near Hotel Paradise, Two days later.**

Neon dressed in his black long-sleeved shirt with 'Grim Eagle' printed on it and an eagle design at the back of it, orange khaki trousers, black gloves and orange sneakers, is trying to clear his head so that he can focus on his match-up against Kasumi. He could tell that Kasumi didn't like the match-up and so did Ryu Hayabusa but Kasumi didn't complain and neither did he.

Right now he's walking on the sidewalk not far from Hotel Paradise and a casino on the opposite side in what seemed to be a gambler's paradise. He's trying to ignore the distractions as he's walking past the hotel but ends up bumping into someone he didn't mind bumping into.

"Oh I'm sorry...Neon-san?! What are you doing here?"

"Just passing by Hitomi. I'm not interested in the lavish stuff around here."

"Is that so? Are you sure that you're not tempted to go in?"

Neon looked at Hitomi with a 'Are you kidding me?' face. "Gambling's a waste of time and I have my own hotel room."

"Uh huh." Hitomi giggled as Neon rolled his eyes while grinning.

"So...sorry for trampling on your chance to win the prize money for your dad and dojo."

"No need to apologize Neon. You beat me fair and square. Just don't lose to anyone else and win the tournament."

"That I intend to do and I'll split the prize money between us."

Hitomi eyes went wide as she gasped. "Really?!"

"Yeah I will." Neon confirmed, "You seem to need it more than me anyways though I still need something for my own lifestyle you know."

"Ahahahaha! You're right. You know how about I introduce you to my father?"

"You sure about that Hitomi? I dunno about that." Neon rubbed the back of his head.

"No worries Neon. I know you two will get along just fine."

"I hope so...Hitomi get down!"

Before said person can react Neon pushes her to the pavement as he quickly draws his Glock and fires three shots. Three kunais with purple ribbons on them end up end up on the road 5 feet away from Neon and Hitomi.

"Hitomi make yourself scarce from here. I've got this!" Neon says as both eyes turn red.

"No Neon, I'm going to help!" Hitomi argues.

"Thanks for the offer Hitomi, but like I said, I've got this." Neon replied, "Like I told you I don't intend to lose to anyone yet."

"Mou...fine! Don't get hurt or worse alright?" Hitomi pouted before she left her friend by himself. When she is out of sight Neon sighs as he keeps his gun up, staring down the sights.

"Show yourself already AYANE!" Neon shouted as said person landed on the barricade on the center of the road with a smug look on their face, "Someone must be a glutton for punishment right?" Neon deadpanned.

"Don't get full of yourself! I'm not through with you yet!" Ayane said.

"I guess that the thrashing I gave you and Hayate didn't get the point across." Neon stated, "Especially the warning I gave him too which also applies to you."

"BAKA! URASAI! I'm so sick of you!" Ayane yelled, "You think you are so hot because you're the 42nd master of Bushinryu ninpo when you're just an arrogant ass just like Kasumi!"

"Have you looked in a mirror lately you stupid bitch? You're the very definition of arrogant." Neon countered calmly.

People that were walking past them came to a stop and turned their attention to the two people talking.

"Damn you..."

"You still have this pointless hatred towards Kasumi and you look down on everyone else, acting like you're the best thing to happen since sliced bread." Neon ranted, "You've been getting on my freaking nerves ever since I met your arrogant ass and I have tried my best to ignore you so that I don't rip you to shreds."

"Even after I beat the crap outta you and Hayate, you still didn't bother to use that head meat up there to figure out that I'm not someone to fuck with! Oh wait a minute, this is you I'm talking about! Ayane the arrogant kunoichi with no fucking common sense!"

"I warned you to not get in my way as I deal with Kasumi and so far you have only done that!" Ayane shouted, "I know you've been talking with that traitor!"

"And so what if I have?" Neon said, "From the way I see it she's no traitor. She went out of her way to get vengeance for your half-brother and when she got it instead of being happy your stupid ass council decided to brand her as a traitor! And you let your senseless hate blind you! How pathetic!"

"You're not even part of our clan! You know nothing about how we do things! Who are you to judge us?!" Ayane shouted.

Neon shrugged nonchalantly, "I'm not doing judging you morons! That's my opinion of the situation. If you can prove me wrong then I'll accept it and move on. Though I doubt you could do so anyways."

"No matter! I'll get rid of you now and then deal with Kasumi after!" Ayane stated pointing at Neon.

"That's too bad. Because since you're messing with me then your life is officially forfeit now like I warned Hayate earlier." Neon stated before his voice turned deeper, **"Oh by the way you're now facing "The Bounty Rook" and not Neon 'Grim' Cross."**

"We'll see about that!" Ayane responded as she suddenly threw a kunai at Neon, who responded by shooting it, resulting in a small explosion that caused him to shield his eyes for a few seconds.

He barely dodged a jumping ax kick to his head and spun around to see Ayane landing on her feet. With her back turned to him she arrogantly smirked before spinning towards Neon. Neon himself had just holstered his gun and gotten into his orthodox stance slipping and blocking the tornado of strikes thrown at him.

**'This Tasmanian devil crap again?! Sheesh, talk about persistence.'**

Neon slipped one of the strikes and landed a spinning back elbow which stopped Ayane's offence and dropped her on her behind. She looked up at him shocked at how she got countered.

**"In case it escaped your head meat up your skull, I countered that form of attack of yours...again since I've got the timing down for it."** Neon clarified, **"Better think of a new trick 'cos that one's getting old."**

Ayane quickly got up and launched herself at Neon again, this time throwing a flurry of kicks at him. Neon dodged a few of them and caught one kick and tossed her onto the road. Ayane managed to ukemi roll from the impact and charged back at Neon again. This time she tried mixing things up with punches, chops and kicks but once again the Bushinryu master slipped the punches and chops and parried the kicks.

Neon was toying with her which he normally didn't do as Neon 'Grim' Cross, but not in this case. He ducked under one chop and landed a left hook to the liver, stopping Ayane in her tracks and followed up with a right hook to the temple that was meant to drop her, but she didn't because another liver shot forced her to stay standing then another shot to the temple followed that and the deadly, no mercy combination designed to beat a man to death was repeated. To the crowd that is watching the fight it was a terrifying sight to behold.

After getting blown back by a kick to the face, Ayane now realized something as she struggled to stay on her feet after multiple blows to her body and head. She was terrified of this monster in front of her and is now at his mercy. She had yet to touch him and she had been taken blows that felt like she was hit by a freaking tank! The fact that she is still standing was amazing even to the spectators watching the fight. As if reading her thoughts The Bounty Rook gave her his ten cents.

**"I'll admit that you're a tough one. I hit you with a combo designed to beat a man to death and yet you're still standing. My respect for you has gone up by an eyelash at least so be happy."**

The Bounty Rook switched to southpaw with a devilish grin came on his face. **"However you're still a fucking arrogant weakling. At least Hayate got the hint or did he, who knows? Either way you're dead.**

Even though in a lot of pain, Ayane was enraged. This man had been playing with her, beaten her so badly that only by sheer will was she standing and he just called her a weakling. She didn't give a damn if her body's still screaming in pain she's going to make this baka eat his words if it's the last thing she does before going down.

She charged at him one last time with speed that she shouldn't even be using and cut loose with a berserk barrage of whatever strikes she had. To the spectators there was nothing but blur in front of them. To The Bounty Rook it was all in slow motion as he easily kept up with Ayane's speed and slipped, blocked and parried whatever she threw at him. Bushinryu Ninpo as utilized by the 39th master Guy and also taught to Neon by his dead mother proved to be useful against multiple opponents and in this case multiple strikes and combined with his Muay Boran and Street fighting he had made his freestyle fighting even deadlier, and as The Bounty Rook, well that was left to the imagination.

First came the overhand left that stopped Ayane's attack. He followed up with right body blow and crippling left leg kick combo that held her to the spot, then came a lightning fast flurry of punches and chops to the chest and solar plexus, and finished by a backside 720 spin hook kick sending the battered kunoichi flying to the ground in a black, bruised and bloody mess.

This time Ayane could not get up. Her body was now screaming loudly in pain and this time she didn't push it, not like she can anyways as the monster now walking up to her had really done a number on her.

Standing over his beaten victim The Bounty Rook began to check out his handiwork before deciding to rub it in and describe the damage.

**"Concussion, minor skull fracture, broken jaw, broken nose, busted lip, messed up liver, broken ribs, left leg messed up, black eye, bruises and a ****_bruised ego_****. Am I right?"**

His blood red eyes hardened and then his Glock was out and pointing at Ayane's head. She could do nothing but stare in utter terror.

"**Like I said earlier you messed with me and now your life's forfeit. Sayo-fucking-nara Ayane."**

However The Bounty Rook sensed someone coming at him and stopped whatever he was doing to parry an overhead slash from above with his gun before jumping away from the attacker. And he is not happy at the person who denied him of his kill.

**"Out of my way Kasumi!"**

"No. I won't!" Kasumi said in defiance, "That's enough, you've beaten her."

**"Didn't you hear my warning from two days ago? I said that if any of you ninjas dared messed with me that their lives will be forfeit and your arrogant bitch of a half sister just tried to kill me and so I'm doing the world a favor and putting her six feet under."**

"No! Don't kill her! I can't let you kill her in cold blood and you become the monster that I feared that you'd become!"

One of the blood red eyes turned green again and the look on Neon's face softened as he became back to normal. Looking at Kasumi carefully he saw the tears forming in her eyes, surprising him and realizing how close he was to losing it.

"So you care about Ayane that much?"

"Yes I do. She's my sister and she's family."

"Even when she despises you and wants to kill you?"

"Yes I do."

"I see...Looks like the saying "blood is thicker than water" stays true after all."

Ryu Hayabusa then joined the scene as the crowd around them had begun to disperse. He looked at Ayane then Neon and Kasumi and pieced together what happened.

"So she didn't heed the warning and came after you?" Ryu asked.

"Pretty much." Neon stated. He reached inside the left pocket of his trousers and tossed a packet of two pills at Kasumi. The kunoichi caught them and was about to ask what they before she got her answer. "Elixir pills. They were made for me while I was still working for the UN. Just give Ayane those and it'll help with healing the damage. We'll need everyone at their best when we deal with DOATEC right?"

Neon then glared at Ayane who was in Ryu's arms like a bride. "I hope you enjoyed that slice of humble pie and also be grateful to your sister that she came and saved you before you became another kill on my body count. Think about what just occurred here and make a smart decision."

He turned around and then said "Kasumi. You'd better bring your A-game when we fight because the kid gloves are officially off and I'm busting out the big guns. Keep training and may the best fighter win when we duke it out next week."

Neon shunsined away in a gust of wind, followed by Kasumi in sakura petals and finally Ryu with Ayane in tow in leap out of sight.

* * *

**Chapter 9 End.**


	11. Neon Grim Cross vs Samara Rook

**Dead or Alive- Dark Horse**

**Disclaimer: I do not own the Dead or Alive series, the only thing I own is my OC.**

**Neon Cross vs Samara Rook**

* * *

Neon wakes up on the ground in a strange place that is pitch black and the floor blood-red. He gets up from the ground groggily and trying to get the ringing out of his ears and stave off the potential migraine in his head. After a few minutes he's clear and he begins walking through the only path in front of him that has a little light.

'Okay? This must be one hell of a dream to be having now. And where's the damn exit already?' He thought as he had not seen an exit from the dark corridor he'd been walking in but still sees little light in it.

He turns a corner and spots a sickening scene. Lots of blood splattered all over the wall and the floor. Brain matter and limbs in multiple piles by the walls, bullet casings on the floor, and the stench of gunpowder and rot filling the air which Neon struggles to hold back the urge to puke.

'Okay who the fuck lives in this shit hole?!' Neon mentally asks as he trudges through the offensive corridor and looking for a way out. He sees an area that is much more lit and follows it hoping for an exit.

He eventually found himself in a large area where the ground is covered in blood, craters and bullet casings, the air is refreshing enough for him to breathe in even though the area is surrounded by black flames. The place he's in feels more like the remains of a war zone. Most of all everything was in black white.

**"So we finally meet again after so long."** Came a voice from behind making Neon turn around to spot a black haired woman with one of the bangs in her hair white, fair skin, green and red eyes like himself. She looked to be in her mid-twenties with a voluptuous and athletic body standing at 6'4" in height, wearing a tight black shirt, black finger-less gloves, white cargo pants with a red belt on her waist, black combat boots, and a black coat hanging over her shoulders.

She was standing there with her arms folded and had a bloodthirsty grin on her face that shivers down Neon's spine.

"And who would you be, where the fuck am I and what do you mean by 'come to see you after all these years'?" Neon asked.

**"Wow! Already in the mood for 21 questions are we? Fine I'll answer in order."** The woman in front of him pouts, **"I am the one you call The Bounty Rook but call me Samara Rook instead. This fucking wasteland is your mindscape, a representation of your subconscious. As for the last part I've been waiting to meet you again after so long Neon."**

"My subconscious is the remnants of a war zone and The Bounty Rook is a woman. Those I never saw coming." Neon says while face palming.

**"What were you expecting? Santa Clause? Your girlfriend? Anyways this is the representation of your subconscious as I stated already. The reason why it's a fucking remnants of a war zone is because of your bloody past and struggle with ME!"** Samara explained with left eye twitching.

"What the hell do you mean by 'you'?!" Neon questioned.

**"I MEAN that due to your refusal to become one with me to be the ultimate soldier, you've created a bit of a dual personality within CODE: ROOK and I can only show up when you get really pissed and danger is approaching you."** Samara explained again while trying to keep a cool head.

"And what is wrong with being a normal person and not some mindless and emotionless weapon?" Neon asked with a deadpanned expression.

**"I never said that there's a problem with being normal but I don't see why you're still lying to yourself about not being the person that you are."**

"Like I ever asked to be someone's freaking tool like you want to be!"

**"So what about being someone's tool? As long as you're killing those who would disturb the peace of the world and wipe them from the face of the earth it's not an issue. Besides you enjoy the thrill of sending those sons of bitches to hell where they belong for their inhumane acts against the innocents."**

"Well I prefer to be a normal, rational human being who can think and decide how to lead my life than the ultimate soldier that's somebody's mindless weapon."

**"Please stop lying to yourself pal as it's just holding you back from who you are and what you're really capable of."** Samara scoffed, **"Like in this DOA tournament, you should have breezed through those two opponents from earlier. That drunken ass and that gutsy karate chick. You could have just let your instincts take over and annihilated them easily but no ya just had to fight at their level and take unnecessary damage from them. Pathetic!"**

"Like I give a damn about your urges you blood thirsty battle-crazed bitch!" Neon snapped.

**"My urges? HA! Now that's rich! They are just as much your urges!"** Samara giggled, **"Don't you always love a good fight just like I do? Don't you always try to finish the fight? Go hard or even enjoy the thrill of the battle? The only difference is that while you take every fight seriously and not hold back, I at least try to have fun and watch as my opponent hopelessly fights a battle they can't win."**

"Which is why you are a monster that cannot be allowed to go loose in the world. Your blood lust and sadistic tendencies tends to cause deaths on the sides of both friend or foes, just like the civilians that died unnecessarily during your rampages." Neon admonished.

**"Collateral fucking damage. No big deal!" **

"Exhibit A right here. Complete disregard for human life."

**"Newsflash Neon! Everyone dies eventually in this fucking world. It's kill or be killed. Survival of the fucking fittest. Every man for their fucking selves. The strong protect the weak when possible but they still rule over them anyways. Something you seem to have forgotten."**

"I agree that no one lives forever but I still cannot go along with your twisted logic."

**"You're calling me twisted. You go out there being a normal, rational human being but you have no problem beating a person to a bloody pulp in a fight or killing those that are after your life like those foolish, greedy bounty hunters after the price on ya head."**

"You know why I killed those fools that bitch Mako sends after me and I hope that you don't intend to be her tool for her sick plans of world domination."

**"I do agree with you on that as I hate that bitch as much as you do but for my reason. However I cannot agree with your crappy hypocrisy."**

"As if you are any better than I am. You should look at yourself in a mirror Samara."

**"I'm not the one who's pretending be some rational person when you're really a beast waiting to be unleashed. I know who I am and not afraid to be myself. Besides if we were one to begin with then we won't be having this discussion."**

"What do you mean by that? Speaking of which you said that it's been a while since we last met yet I don't remember..." Neon's eyes closed in pain as certain images flashed around the mindscape. After it was said and done, Neon opened his eyes wide with realization and fear. "I-I remember you Samara...you're what was known as an Elemental Jinn and in your case one from the negative plane."

**"So you're starting to remember? Good."**

"Yes...I remember it all. Our first meeting, our interest in martial arts, our comradery, our fights and even our..." Neon blushed which Samara smiled at.

**"Yeah, I remember that too.** **And funny enough it was...great. Especially for your first time." **Samara said.

"Yes, it was. Then there was our falling out after my last therapy session with Dr. Vela." Neon pointed out.

**"Something that caused our current situation which I'm still mad at you for. You just had to play the victim there even after I told you that it was all in the past. You then locked me up in the back of your mind."**

"Which is a good thing. You're a monster that can't be left to her own devices and I don't intend to be one with you anytime soon to create another monster. Now get me out of here!" Neon said.

**"Like I take orders from you, hypocrite!"** Samara said as she was surrounded by a pillar of black flames. Neon remembered how awed he was by those flames the first time he saw them.

The flames soon dissipated and out walked Samara with some flames still dancing around her body. **"I'm sick and tired of putting up with you and your hypocrisy, and when I'm done with you I'll get rid of that Kasumi girl and her fellow ninjas, your pal Hitomi and that bitch Mako Yashiro and her business partner Victor Donovan."**

"You'll never get that chance Samara!" Neon yells as he enters his Bushinryu stance, "I'll have to put you down hard so that you never run amok!"

**"Bring it on YOUNG GUN!"** Samara says as she charges at him with shocking speed. Neon barely slips her flaming lunging left hook and returns fire with a lead uppercut followed by a flurry of punches and a left roundhouse kick which Rook easily blocks. Samara comes back with her own flurry of punches, each just as fast and powerful not to mention enhanced by the black flames which Neon remembered would drain the life out of any living being.

Fortunately for him, since Samara was bound to him he was immune to the life draining fire.

Still Neon can only slip those precision punches that were coming from weird angles before blocking the body kick. He's unable to counter as Samara's already out of his reach after stepping back and then she throws a left leg kick which Neon catches but has to dodge the somersault kick that came after.

Landing on her feet, Samara rushes at Neon, throwing punches, elbows, palm strikes, knees and kicks. Neon tries to time her for a counter but he's unable to due to her unorthodox strikes. He still manages to back her off with a few missed counters her due to her quick footwork.

Neon begins his own offence throwing a one-two, right leg kick combo which Samara easily counters with a straight right-left hook combo that he barely avoids before resuming his offence. He throws an left uppercut as she charges in which forces her to stop and step back and he follows up with a left teep kick to the body and a right high kick that she blocks this time.

Neon leaps in with a flying roundhouse kick that Samara easily defends against. He continues pressuring her with punches that only hit air as she easily slips them before landing a huge overhand right on Neon that drops him to a knee and then swarms him with a barrage of punches and elbows. Neon manages to recover quickly and stands back up while forcing her back with a right hook to the jaw.

**"Not bad young gun! You haven't gotten weaker after all."** Samara compliments.

"And you're just as unorthodox as before." Neon acknowledges back.

**"Why thank you Neon. However that's enough of that! Time to turn it up!" **Samara stated as the flames around her became even more intense.

Neon suddenly found himself contending with a much faster Samara who had closed the gap in a second and was throwing more unorthodox combinations at him. He's barely dodging them and missing his counters as Samara is easily weaving through them and maintaining her onslaught.

Neon finally slips one of Rook's punches which leave her open and capitalizes landing an uppercut that Rook leaned into as she tried to dodge. While she's of balance from that counter Neon swarms with a head, body punch combinations and finishes with a leg kick that drops Samara on her butt. Neon quickly dives in with a superman punch.

Samara pulls the rubber guard and she puts him in a triangle choke. Neon fights it and is about to slip out before Samara switches to an arm bar. The submission seems to not be useful as Neon is close to slipping out before a quick scramble occurs and he finds himself in an omoplata submission.

'How many subs does she got? Is she a Brazilian Jujitsu black belt?' **'Not bad he has good submission defense.'** Neon and Samara think to themselves respectively as they battle during the submission hold. Neon slips out of the tight sub and gets on top in side control, then Samara pulls him into butterfly guard. She goes for a gogoplata but Neon quickly slips out, however a scramble ensues and Samara pulls him into a guillotine choke. Fortunately, Neon slips out of it. He then unleashes a barrage of elbows and punches which Samara blocks and sways from before she catching one of the attacks and turning it to another arm bar attempt. Neon attempt proceeds to power through it as he picks her up while in the submission. Samara sees that and releases the hold and lands on her feet before he can slam her down to the ground.

Neon now switches to orthodox while Samara switches to southpaw.

She tries to catch Neon off guard by shooting in for his legs for a takedown which fails as he easily stuffs it and barely misses the knee thrown at her for her troubles. She then comes at him with a five-punch combo which Neon nullifies with his elbow blocking but as he throws a counter left hook Samara ducks down and grabs his legs and lifts him up before running forward and slamming him with authority making Neon gasp in pain. Samara gets mount and starts dropping elbows. Neon barely manages to defend and sweeps into a better position.

A scrambles and Neon gets Samara neck in a standing guillotine choke. Samara battles against the submission hold as Neon tries to deny her escape and add pressure, but once again she escapes the hold and pushes Neon off her. Both fighters keep a good distance as they circle each other.

'Damn it! She's still just as good as before.' Neon thought, 'Grappling's outta the question and my best chance is with striking and even that's difficult due to her unorthodox striking. I'll have to capitalize on the slightest opening she leaves which she's barely leaving.'

**'Interesting. Neon's gotten even better than I expected, no doubt due to fighting other opponents. Unfortunately I'll have to end this soon and take over this body.'** Samara thought as she observed Neon.

Neon dashes in and flies in with a flying knee which Samara sidesteps. When he lands he throws a rolling sobat which she easily dodges and quickly grabs him from behind. She tries to lift him up but Neon denies her and maintains his footing. Samara manages to throw him down but Neon still gets back up while she maintains her hold on him. He puts his weight down and grabs Samara's wrist with his right hand as he tries to wiggle out and elbows at her head behind him with Samara punching back in return.

He manages to break free and spins around as Samara attempts to shoot in for a takedown but this time Neon anticipated her move and intercepts her with a left knee to the chin and knocks her out.

Neon drops on his knees in relief. That fight had taken a lot out of him and he was barely able to stay conscious.

"I finally beat her! I finally gotten a win over Samara." Neon says as he looks at her, "Well whatever she'll be waking up soon anyways and I have no idea what'll happen next."

Right on cue Samara wakes up and rises to sitting position. She turns and spots Neon kneeling beside her looking at her with a straight face and realizes that she lost. Neon noticed the sad look in her eyes and felt bad about it.

**"So you finally beat me? Well congrats for that Neon 'Grim' Cross. I never expected you to beat me but you did, so I'll stay in here and not try to takeover you unless you allow me or in dire situations. Deal?" **Samara said, though with a shaky voice. There goes her freedom.

"While I don't mind that, how about we return to how we were back then as mutual partners?" Neon suggested surprising the jinn, "While we fought I realized some things. You and I share this body and you've been helping all through those times when I was unfortunately Mako's tool until Red and company freed me and even while I've been enjoying my freedom which I'm grateful for. Like me you've also been screwed over by that same bitch since she bound you to me and me locking you up in my mind has been just as bad. I'm sorry about that."

Samara looked at Neon in disbelief but inwardly she was glad that he wanted them to be partners again though she felt that them becoming one entity would be better.

**"I'm glad you want us to be partners again but I still think that us becoming one is a better option."**

"I still don't like that option Samara. I want to be me and not some different individual altogether."

**"I got no problem with that. I'll respect your decision."**

"I'm glad that we have an agreement."

**"Yeah. So...since we're partners again I'll help ya out with your training for your semi-final match against Kasumi. She's very fast, even faster than you even with your speed. You'll need to add more to your arsenal to tango with her 'cos just your current skill level ain't gonna cut it. Even if you used just your Bushinryu."**

Neon raised an eyebrow in surprise.

"How do you know this? I haven't even seen her fights yet and yet you know about her." he questioned.

**"That may be so but I did take over your body while you were resting after your matches to watch the competition in this tournament and I had a feeling that you'd be meeting her eventually. Though I hate her pacifist attitude I'll admit that she's very good." **Samara admitted, **"I know that you don't like that but it was for you own good."**

"I see. Thanks for the info, though I'm not happy about you taking over without my consent and putting us at risk of Mako pinpointing us." Neon replied.

Samara shrugged off the criticism, **"Whatever! Let her find us! We'll send whoever she throws at us back to her in body bags! Besides we both know the bitch's living on borrowed time."**

"Agreed. She'll get her one-way trip to hell soon enough."

**"Good to know. Now get outta here and rest up, we got training tomorrow before your match the day after that."**

"Got it Samara and thanks once again. For everything."

**"You're welcome, Neon."**

Neon disappears from Samara's view as he returns to the real world.

**"I should have told him we are also living on borrowed time ourselves." **Samara sighed, **"I'll have to do so soon."**

* * *

**Chapter 10 End. **


	12. Grim Eagle vs Kunoichi of Destiny

**Dead or Alive- Dark Horse**

**Disclaimer: I do not own the Dead or Alive series, the only thing I own is my OC.**

**Grim Eagle vs Kunoichi of Destiny**

* * *

**10:00 hrs in the morning on the hotel rooftop, Tokyo, Japan**

Neon is on the rooftop of the hotel taking a breather after some rigorous training by himself and also with his old partner Samara Rook, who is his other personality due to CODE: Rook.

Since time goes a lot slower in his 'mindscape' like Samara put it to him, he was able to get some training and it was very brutal due to Rook being a sadistic drill sergeant. She taught him Brazilian Jujitsu techniques, proper boxing skills to replace his street fighting skills, freestyle wrestling takedowns and throws to compliment his 'adequate' judo throws and added even more martial art styles to the mix. She also helped him to work on his timing for when he deals with foes who are much faster than him like his opponent in the DOA Tournament semis Kasumi. She also taught him how to mix up his striking and takedowns/throws to mess with his opponent's mind games and got him to change his fighting stance completely to a hands-down open style that allowed him to use his head movement better while still able to cover up just as good, utilize more footwork, use more unorthodox angles, and add feints to keep the opponent guessing.

Neon absorbed everything Samara drilled and pounded into him like a sponge and added everything to his freestyle fighting arsenal. He also sparred with Samara a lot, with him mostly getting better each time much to Samara's joy and envy too.

Although the more rigorous part of his training took place in his mind for what seemed like months, in reality it only took hours for him but that took a bit out of him coupled with his own training, even with his crazy stamina which was saying a lot about how intense his all that training was. An hour later and he was up and he is now in his room having his shower and getting ready for his semi final match today.

He knows she was the winner of the first tournament and she was a ninja of the Mugen Tenshin so he really had to bring his S-game not A-game for her and with the new skills Samara taught him Neon is confident that he will defeat her and advance. He got into his white full body spec ops outfit though without a gun in the holster since he won't be using it in the fight and put on a black trench coat over it before he left the hotel room for the battle ahead.

* * *

**12:00 hrs at the Sakura Temple**

Kasumi is inside the temple building on the top floor. She is wearing her signature blue kunoichi uniform with her wakizashi behind her, staring out the window deep in thought. She is thinking about her upcoming fight and her opponent Neon 'Grim' Cross, The Grim Eagle or Bounty Rook. She is still worried about him because a few days ago he was close to losing himself to the blood lust of what is in him which she found out to be Code: Rook, and he nearly killed Ayane in the process. If not for Kasumi's intervention Ayane would have been beaten to death and become the monster she feared that he'd become.

She still couldn't fathom why Neon showed in this tournament to begin with or even why she had that nightmare that involved him, his blood thirsty rampage and his just as bloody demise. When she saw him on the Survivor, she was shocked to see that he was the one she was dreaming about and even managed to sense something dangerous in him. This was much more confirmed by Neon's brutal victories during the preliminaries where she felt sorry for his unfortunate opponents matched up against him. Then she met him at the welcome party and tried to convince him to leave but he refused, being confident that he could take care of himself.

She saw his matches against Brad Wong and Hitomi where he started well, got into trouble and turned it around against the drunken fighter and against the karate girl they both produced fireworks as they stood toe to toe and made it a vicious slug fest, both nearly getting finished multiple times before Neon won with a submission.

After he killed the bounty hunters sent after him, she learned about his past and saw a lost soul in a situation beyond his control and impressed at how he was making efforts to enjoy his normal life. She was also angered by the one who made him that way too, Mako Yashiro, who didn't want him free but back in her grasps to do whatever vile deeds she wanted with him and worse she was almost if not more or less the same as Victor Donovan. Crazy enough Neon had been able to beat both Hayate and Ayane by himself and with almost no difficulty, however he was much more sadistic and brutal when he did that just like when he beat Ayane again nearly killing her with his bare hands.

Now she has to fight him to advance further in the tournament and also deal with DOATEC her own way as she knew of Hayate's plan to assault the DOATEC HQ to destroy the company that had caused them nothing but trouble. Also Neon had announced that he was going to assist them in the attack for his own reasons which she figured out already: kill Mako Yashiro and erase one miserable part of his life in the process.

'Neon. I know that you want to win this tournament and erase that part of your life for good but I can't lose here either because I have something I must do too.' Kasumi thought as she looked down below at the courtyard before she shunsined away.

* * *

**13:30 hrs, DWA Coliseum.**

DWA Coliseum was filled with excited fans who are eager to see this match in particular: The first Dead or Alive tournament winner, the beautiful kunoichi Kasumi versus "The Dark Horse" Neon 'Grim' Cross who has been making waves and surprising many with his Freestyle fighting. His complete cruising through the prelims caught some people's attention but many still didn't see him getting any further in the tournament. Then he knocked Brad Wong the Drunken Fist fighter out and submitted Hitomi in a thriller of a fight. Now people are getting behind him as the one to actually win the tournament and even believed that he has a chance against Kasumi, Jann Lee or even Hayabusa though there are realists who still don't see what he has that can give him an edge against the two ninjas or the Jeet Kune Do master. Speaking of which the other two fighters in the semifinals not fighting now had their own view of things.

Jann Lee didn't care about the people betting on Neon to win. He had been interested in the Freestyle fighter even since he saw him on the Freedom Survivor during his spar with Hitomi. That interest increased when Neon easily ran over the competition during the prelims. His ability to adapt and turn the tables on Brad Wong impressed him as he knew that the Drunken Fist fighter was a headache to fight due to his erratic and unorthodox style. In the thriller against Hitomi, he was impressed at Neon's skill, grit and determination as he took the fight to her, battle from the brink and come back to win the fight. Now against Kasumi, one of the ninjas that had been fighting at DOA from the beginning, he wanted to see how he'd do against someone who was very quick and agile and also very tricky and skilled.

Ryu Hayabusa, like Jann Lee didn't care about the betting. He was more worried about Hayate's sister going up against what one would call a dangerous beast that went all out against its prey with horrifying ferocity and when blood came up he went for the kill with a sadistic blood lust around him. Ryu had watched Neon beat the hell out of Hayate and Ayane together when they confronted him and he made them look like genin with the ease at which he did it. Not surprising since he's the 42nd master of Bushinryu Ninpo and also UN's former weapon "The Bounty Rook", the ultimate soldier. He also found out that Neon's even more sadistic than Ayane(and that was a feat in itself) after he saw the number he did on her after he and Kasumi stopped him from finishing Ayane off after she aggravated him and fought Neon again because of her pride. Ryu also knows that Neon is a good guy underneath that beast, as he gave them some very powerful medicine for Ayane which had gotten her back to normal in a short time considering the damage inflicted on her.

Those two and the other competitors in the tournament are there in the crowds or in the area and they also had their own thoughts.

Lei Fang was wondering how he made it this far and what was so special about Neon that had Jann Lee's attention. As far as she was concerned Neon's a guy with a mishmash of techniques from multiple styles and he fought more like a brawler who had some flashes of technical fighting too and she wanted to see how he'd deal with someone much more disciplined and skilled than him.

Hitomi is excited for Neon's match but his opponent was what worried her more as it is Kasumi whose's on a whole different level than herself and most of the others. She's confident that Neon will find a way to win this match even against the kunoichi. Another thing was that she's finding herself falling for Neon but she didn't want to push the issue yet.

Bass is still livid at the fact that he was sent to the hospital by Neon, but he was here to see him get his ass kicked by the ninja since he knew that there was no way in hell he'd beat her or was he right?

Tina however didn't share his opinion. She was still a little upset at how Neon acted to her father and her but also glad that he gave him a much needed wake-up call. As for his opponent right now, though it is Kasumi, someone she knows is damn good, she knows that Neon must be just as good or even better especially since he made it to this point.

Helena and Lisa had seen Neon's earlier matches especially his thriller against Hitomi which they found entertaining and they wanted to see how he'd do against the runaway ninja.

Christie is there to watch him as ordered by Donovan to see his abilities as "The Bounty Rook" with her own eyes since she'd tangoed with him before.

Bayman was there only because he'd seen the Neon's bounty and was wondering if he's worth getting as a way to get closer to Donovan since he found out about his interest in him.

Eliot had been in awe at Neon's skills as a fighter especially his freestyle fighting and was still wishing to test himself against him.

Kokoro too is in the same boat as Eliot except that it was out of curiosity that she desired to have a crack at Neon's freestyle fighting.

Brad was apparently bored and not paying attention as he's drinking a bottle of wine and ignoring Eliot's scolding.

Above on the arena with Ryu Hayabusa are Hayate and Ayane. Hayate was still trying to wrap his head around the fact that he had gotten his ass handed to him by Neon and he nearly lost it after he heard that Ayane had gone after him even after he warned her not to and worse, she was nearly killed by that monster of a man. He had given 42nd Bushinryu master some respect since he'd proven that he's someone to not mess with but still decided to keep a good distance from him and even ordered the other Mugen Tenshin ninjas to not approach Neon at all.

Ayane is still not happy that she'd lost twice to Neon, had added him to her shit list and hated him even more than Kasumi which was surprise even to the other ninjas. She's hoping that Kasumi wipes the floor with the bastard and then she'll go in and kill him!

The announcer had already arrived and called for the fighters to show up. Sakura petals showed up in a gust of wind before dispersing to reveal Kasumi in a crouched position but not looking up yet. The fans of course are cheering for her. Everyone is looking around for Neon wondering where he is until said person suddenly lands in the ring with afterimages of him fading behind him before he stands, surprising everyone with his flashy entrance.

Kasumi looks up at him with determination on her face.

"I'm ready Neon!" She said before entering her stance.

Neon relaxes himself then bounces around on his feet, entering his southpaw stance.

"Well then, don't you dare hold back Kasumi or I'll make you regret it."

**GET READY! FIGHT!**

Neon gets things started with punches and leg kicks in the center of the ring. Kasumi fires back with a string of counter punches. She misses with a high kick, but follows with a quick throw attempt. Neon defends and trips her with a big ippon seoi throw to the canvas. Neon takes top position, almost in mount but due to one of Kasumi's legs, she keeping him elevated and off of her. Neon passes to side control instead and drops rapid fire punches. Kasumi defends and quickly pops to her feet. She then pursues Neon with punches and a high kick. Neon slips the punches and catches the kick and puts her back on the canvas. Kasumi once more pops again to her feet. She once more chases Neon with a flurry of strikes, but Neon easily ducks under them and spins out the back.

Kasumi closes in very quickly with more punches and kicks. Neon strikes back with a counter flurry and kick in reply. He ducks under another strike and takes Kasumi down again, but Kasumi fights back to her feet and pushes Neon away towards the ropes. They exchange strikes, and Neon grazes Kasumi with a left hook on the way out. Kasumi pursues Neon with punches and goes for another throw. Neon stuffs her attempt and locks up the Thai plum pushing her against the turnbuckle. He fires some knees which Kasumi blocks. She then defends a trip takedown and breaks free.

Kasumi comes in with a flying knee but Neon catches her out of the air and slams her to the ground. He stacks up and throws single punches at her that are defended before he dives with a punch that Kasumi managed to avoid before she pushed him off and got back to standing.

Neon leaped in with a superman jab that Kasumi blocked and hit her leg with a leg kick. He followed up with a feinted hook that Kasumi tried to counter but missed as he ducked under and got a single leg and dragged her down before getting on top in side control. Neon attacked with some hammer fists which Kasumi blocked then he used that opening to move across her body into a crucifix position trapping her right arm with his legs and her left with his right arm and unleashed an elbow barrage on her defenseless head. Kasumi tried and tried to get out but Neon was not giving up the position. She eventually managed to get her right arm free of his legs and buck him off her and get back to her feet.

'He's using MMA here?' Tina thought as she didn't expect that from the freestyle fighter while forgetting the fact that he's one.

Bayman had a small grin on his face. 'So the man has some grappling skills and not just plain striking.'

Back in the center of the ring, Neon throws punches while he steps around. Kasumi however outpaces him with quick flurries and kicks. Neon then changes his pace with feints and single punches. Neon throws a knee, which Kasumi counters with a counter hold. Neon escapes and goes for a single leg takedown, eventually pulling Kasumi down to her back. Neon drops elbows, but Kasumi blocks before she once more scrambles back to her feet. She manages to dodge knee on the way out though.

Kasumi attacks with kicks at varying levels. Neon dodged the first two that aimed for his head, blocked the mid one and jumped back from the sweep kick at the end. He stepped in with a feint kick causing Kasumi to step back and Neon lunged in with a right hook to the temple that is blocked and lands a left hook to the body and breaks her guard with a follow-up uppercut. He then rushed in, grabbed her legs and drove in with a power double leg takedown. He went for a toe hold immediately but Kasumi fought back and managed to escape as she kicked off him and they both got back up.

Both return to the center of the ring again and begin sniping at each other, but it's Neon that connects with body and leg kicks. Kasumi begins backing up, looking for opportunities to counter. "Grim" switches to orthodox and pursues with his jab, using it to get in close for a trip. It's foiled however by Kasumi, but Neon gets the rear waist-lock instead, chaining it right into a German suplex and gets her back. He completely flattens her and sinks his right arm, looking for the choke. Kasumi spins in defense, but Neon just reapplies the choke. Kasumi breaks his grip and escapes, getting back to her feet.

Neon moves in with a punch feint which Kasumi did not fall for and easily avoided the follow-up left knee and right hook combo. He throws a head kick that is blocked and follows up with a quick leg kick. Kasumi fires back with right hand aimed at Neon's jaw but gets hit by cross counter.

Kasumi lands a low kick, stalking Neon around the ring. Neon circles out and gives fires back with one-twos. Kasumi stays just out of range to avoid the counters before stepping back in. Both throw wide strikes, missing altogether. Kasumi misses a somersault kick as Neon retreats.

Neon circles, switching to southpaw and attacks with punches and Kasumi fires back with her own, however Neon gets the best of it and drops Kasumi with an overhand right. Kasumi quickly pops back up to her feet before Neon can pounce. Neon switches to orthodox and misses a stepping uppercut. Kasumi backs him off with counter strikes. Neon tries jabbing once more but Kasumi counters with short elbows. She goes for another one but Neon puts her on her back with a double leg takedown. He quickly passes to full mount and begins dropping power punches to the side. Kasumi rolls over and tries to slip out the back but Neon keeps her down. He tries to go for an arm bar but Kasumi gets to her feet in transition.

Neon attacks with a leg kick to switch kick combo that Kasumi guards against and sidesteps her return fire right roundhouse kick. She continues with a punch kick combo that also misses again and Neon lands a right stepping knee to her gut and follows with a left hook which Kasumi blocks but leaves herself open to an osoto gari trip. Neon attacks with elbows from top position which Kasumi manages to defend against before sweeping him and getting back up with Neon following.

Neon moved around Kasumi showing off more of his footwork and Kasumi stalked him, trying to cut him off. Neon continues stepping around and peppering with attacks from different angles disguised with feints, confusing Kasumi leaving her to only block as she found it difficult to get a counter hold due to the feints and odd angles that the attacks were coming from and frustration was building up.

Ayane and Hayate were surprised at Neon's confounding combos and Kasumi being unable to counter. Ayane was seething within herself at the fact that even Kasumi that beat her, is unable to do much against Neon. Hayate had to admit that Neon's use of odd angles is very effective as even his mind was scrambled by the confusing attacks.

Jann Lee was impressed at Neon's confusing offence as he was finding it hard to see a counter to the unorthodox strikes. Lei Fang was busy picking her jaw off the ground as she was confounded by what she was seeing. Hitomi, Eliot and Kokoro are amazed at Neon's flashy and confusing offence.

Even Brad had stopped drinking for a second and was actually watching the fight. The fans too were cheering and enjoying the display of technical and flashy attacks by Neon.

Neon switches to south paw. Kasumi explodes forward with punches that Neon ducks under. She lands a low kick and steps in but gets hit by Neon's jumping knee dropping her to a knee but she recovers quickly. Neon moves into the pocket and lets his hands go with Kasumi replying in kind. He ducks under a punch and captures her back in the waist-lock and once again lands another German suplex. Neon takes her back again, dropping power punches. She defends again and goes out the back door. She rushes forward with punches and kicks but Neon avoids with quick movement. Neon jabs, closes in and then flips Kasumi over with a hip throw, but Kasumi pops back to her feet and pushes forward with more kicks. Neon dances just out of range, drops levels and puts Kasumi on her back again with another double leg. Neon attempts to pass but Kasumi flips to her belly, chucking Neon off in the process.

Kasumi got frustrated and charged in throwing strikes and kicks at multiple levels which Neon casually weaved through with head movement and graceful footwork according to Helena and Lisa as they're engrossed in his technical and great use of movement to avoid the kunoichi's offence while easily getting his counter offence going. Kasumi hissed as she missed another knee strike and had to dodge Neon's double left shovel hooks to her head and body but still got her leg tagged by a right leg kick. After falling for another feint she got knocked down on her behind by a 1-2 combo. Neon did not follow up and allowed her to get up and continued moving around with Kasumi following cautiously following him.

'So he's been training and adding tricks to his arsenal and even changed up his style a bit. Not bad Neon.' Kasumi silently praised, 'However that won't work any more as I've seen through your mind games and won't get caught up in them.'

She stalked Neon once more and this time did not fall for his feints and kept him in her sights and was defending much better and getting comfortable. Most of the spectators thought that she was getting wise to his unorthodox style and would turn the tables. However Hayate, Ryu, Jann Lee, Brad Wong, Bayman and Helena saw that not happening as Neon had more tricks up his sleeve.

Neon switches to orthodox again and steps to his right with Kasumi following and carefully cutting him off. Neon throws a jab before ducking under an elbow and spinning out. Kasumi steps in low but a left uppercut-right hook combo stops whatever she had in mind and she retreats back with Neon following her. He dashes in and Kasumi expected a feint again and threw an elbow but got countered by a cross that snapped her head back and staggers her. Neon misses a flying knee as Kasumi stepped out of the way.

Neon switched to southpaw and continued to walk his opponent down. Kasumi attacks with punches but Neon's ducking roundhouse counter stuns her and pushes her back. Kasumi recovers and throws a body kick which Neon catches her attack and then drops her with a spinning back elbow hurting her badly.

Neon sees the blood in the water and moves in for the kill throwing down relentless ground and pound on Kasumi who was barely defending against the onslaught. She leaves her neck out and Neon goes for it, getting a gable grip, threading his left arm under his right arm, in front of her neck, and locking onto the triceps of his left arm. He then flattened his body putting his weight into the choke while locking Kasumi's right leg with his legs. It only took a few more seconds before she stopped struggling and went limp. Neon quickly noticed she's out and lets go as the announcer already took the hint and called the match.

**"WINNER!"**

Neon stood up as the medics came in and the crowd went crazy after seeing another amazing finish and with a submission they'd never seen except a few people. He looked back at Kasumi and crouched down as the medics tried to revive her.

"Don't worry about me Kasumi, I won't be losing myself anytime soon."

'So he finished with the D'arce choke? Impressive.' Bayman thought as he disappears.

"I can't believe he pulled that off!" Tina exclaimed.

"What did he pull off?" Helena asked as Lei Fang, Eliot, Hitomi and Kokoro turned their heads in Tina's direction.

"That was the D'arce choke he pulled off." Lisa answered for Tina making eyes open wide as dinner plates and jaws dropping. "It's a choke submission in Brazilian Jujitsu that was named after the guy that finished many opponents in grappling tournaments with it as his favorite submission."

"I'm surprised that he actually knows something like that. I actually thought he was just a striker." Tina said.

"Looks like he has more skills than we all expected then." Kokoro concluded which everyone agreed with.

'I wonder what else he has in his arsenal.' Helena and Eliot both thought.

"Wow! He can strike, throw, use submissions and even mix them all together. Neon's so amazing!" Hitomi shouted causing the group to sweat drop.

'Someone's now a fan girl/got a crush on him.' Bass and Tina thought.

Christie is smiling at Neon's dominating performance. 'I thought he'd have a tough time with the ninja especially the one DOA had messed around with but he outright dominated the match. I bet Donovan and his new partner are gonna love this.' She then left without a trace.

Jann Lee is even more impressed at Neon's performance. 'He changed his style and used a very unorthodox attack and mix ups to confuse her and dominate the match before finishing in emphatic fashion. Now I'm even more excited to fight you Neon!'

Meanwhile above the arena, Ayane was swearing and going ballistic at Neon's victory. Hayate just looked on with a straight face. His respect for Neon had risen even more and so as his fear of him.

'Neon's definitely more skilled than we expected and he's more than likely to win this tournament but I bet that Donovan's even more interested in him and so is Mako Yashiro.' Ryu thought.

Down below Kasumi had awoken up finally with Neon helping her up and carrying her in a bridal carry which caused her to blush as the medics guided them to the ambulance and took them to the hospital.

* * *

**Chapter 11 End.**


	13. Preparations

**Dead or Alive- Dark Horse**

**Disclaimer: I do not own the Dead or Alive series, the only thing I own is my OC.**

**Preparations**

* * *

After their semi finals match Neon and Kasumi had gone to the hospital though it was Kasumi who needed the treatment after the beating he put on her. Why he followed her to the hospital was because of her safety since he knew that it would be the best opportunity for Mugen Tenshin to put an end to Kasumi and Neon was going to make sure that they failed. It was a good idea too because a Mugen Tenshin kunoichi disguised as a nurse tried to kill Kasumi as she slept, with some poison in a syringe. Neon had caught on to her disguise and wasn't fooled by her attempt to get rid of him from Kasumi's side. So he pretended to leave before sneaking back in on the kunoichi's assassination attempt, sneaked up on her and stabbing his switch blade into her shoulder, hence disarming her of her weapon. He then proceeded to give the assassin a dose of her own medicine with instantaneous results.

Kasumi woke up later and saw Neon standing over a nurse, who she knew wasn't one and she caught on to what happened and was thankful for what he did. Neon told her that it's him looking out for those he considers friends. He sealed up the dead body in a scroll and gave it to Ryu Hayabusa and told him to give it to Hayate.

* * *

**Two days later, Tokyo Hospital.**

"Neon."

"Yes Kasumi?"

"Now that you're in the finals Donovan's going to be fully focused on you."

"I know. Especially with Mako at his side, I'd bet that they'd be planning on some way to capture me for whatever sick plans they'd have in mind."

Kasumi sighed as she sat up on her hospital bed. She'd been recovering at a good rate and with Neon watching over her since he couldn't trust Hayate's assassins to not stop their attacks. So far the assassination attempts had stopped.

"Neon, are you involving yourself in the assault on DOATEC just for your personal vendetta with Mako or something else?" Kasumi asked.

"Well at first I was in it for my personal vendetta. However after thinking about you and Hayate's history with DOATEC I decided that putting Donovan down too would be in the world's best interest." Neon answered, "We can't have anymore people like him and Mako around to do God knows what and make another person like me. One of me is enough."

"Are you getting any of your allies from UN to help?"

"Initially I'd have dealt with this myself, but considering how big this is I'd call in some favors, especially with the fact that UN wants Mako brought in dead or alive. Though they prefer her alive while I and my friends want her dead."

"Will they be helping with the assault too?"

"Yes they will. Especially the people I'd call in to help. They don't like Mako a lot and I doubt they think highly of DOATEC either."

"Alright though I don't think they'd get along with the Mugen Tenshin ninjas."

"I know. They'll operate separately from the ninjas and still assist in the assault."

"Alright. Neon, thanks for getting involved and helping us to take down DOATEC."

"No need to thank me."

"Well I'm thanking you! So thank you!"

"Fine. Fine. You're welcome!"

Kasumi giggled at Neon's embarrassed face as he tried to hide it from her.

The next day Kasumi is discharged from the hospital and Neon escorts her to where she's staying. When she gets in he goes out and brings out a disposable cell to make a call.

"Yo there...This is untraceable right?...Good. When can you and your friends get here?...Alright I'll see you guys in three days."

After he makes the call he dumps the phone into a nearby trash bin and walks down the street to his apartment. Along the way, however, he meets someone he doesn't want to see and another annoying individual.

"What the hell do you want Hayate?" Neon asks in disgust, "And what is that arrogant bitch doing here?"

"I'm not here to antagonize you anymore than needed. And no need to insult Ayane." Hayate calmly responds.

"Then what is it then?"

"Hayate's here to talk. So just listen to him and drop the hostility." Ayane says, while trying to avoid eye contact.

"He has his own mouth to talk. Let him use it." Neon deadpanned, "Now get to it Hayate I don't got all day."

"I'm here to ask if you are really helping us take down DOATEC." Hayate stated, "Especially when you mentioned that you had your own reasons for doing so."

"Yes I'm helping you ninjas with your assault on DOATEC." Neon answered.

"What are your reasons for helping us?"

"Initially I only wanted to help because of my personal vendetta with Mako Yashiro whom I've found out is working with Donovan but now I am doing this to make sure lunatics like those two don't run amok."

"Is UN getting involved?"

"Maybe. Maybe not. They do want Mako dead or alive after all but they also have bigger issues to deal with."

"So they are expecting you to do this by yourself?"

"I don't work for UN anymore and I'm calling in favors from some old pals for this."

"I see. Well then I'll leave you to whatever it is you have in mind. Just tell them to keep their distance from my ninjas like I've told them to keep their distance from you."

"And what about Kasumi?"

"She's a runaway ninja from our clan and so she's our own problem. I don't see why you're involving yourself in our business." Ayane added.

"Are you Hayate? No. Then zip it!" Neon said, "Hayate?"

"What's she to you Neon?" Hayate asked.

"A good friend. One I trust a lot and consider precious like my other friends."

"I see. Ayane. Let's go."

"Yes, Hayate."

The two ninjas both shunsined out of Neon's sight and he continued his way to his hotel.

* * *

**Three days later, at the hotel's leisure room.**

"Nice of you to show up with your squad, Ron." Neon said as he shook hands with his god brother.

"Of course I'd show up and it's about time you called." Ron Russell said, "I was wondering when you'd ask for assistance for dealing with Mako Yashiro."

"I wanted to go lone wolf at first since it was personal but this is a lot bigger than me."

"You're right about that Neon. Very correct, especially with Mako trying to continue the Bounty Rook Project and with the help of Victor Donovan of DOATEC."

"Seriously? Even after I destroyed the data for that she wants to start from scratch and with the ass hat's help?"

"It's true. Red's undercover agents found out that info before he pulled them out. That Donovan guy's a piece of work."

"That's an understatement. He's just as vile, bat-shit crazy and power hungry like Mako."

Ron Russell had to rub his temples with his hands to stave off the incoming headache. "Well I agree with you on one thing, we don't need anymore of you...no offence Neon."

"None taken. We also don't need lunatics like Mako and Donovan running amok. So is your squad in with us?"

"Oh they are in alright! When they heard about what they did to you, they've wanted nothing more than to overkill the bitch."

"Well the overkill part is mine."

"That much I know."

"Anyways, what did Red's agents uncover about Mako's mad plans?"

Ron brings out a data pad and places it on the table. "One of my squad members was part of the undercover agents that got this info and she'll help explain it. Julia."

A 6' tall, black-haired fair skinned woman with a heart-shaped face, brown eyes, reading glasses, C-cup bust wearing a white shirt, black jeans, and black boots came up to them and saluted. "Yes, Boss."

"Have a seat." She grabs an empty chair and sits down. "This is Neon 'Grim' Cross, my god brother and the one Mako has plans for."

"A honor to meet Boss' god brother and the third Bounty Rook." Julia said, "I am Julia Dantas, Recon and Tech of Squad 2."

"Pleasure to meet you and don't call me that name."Neon said, "And what did you mean by 'Third Bounty Rook'?"

"You were not the first Bounty Rook that Mako Yashiro created for UN." Julia says, "You were the only one that she managed to get under control until your escape."

"Really? There were two others?" Ron said.

"Yes, Boss. There were two other Bounty Rooks before Mr Cross."

"Who are they? Are they even alive?" Neon asked.

"Page 4 has that info about them sir."

Neon took the data pad and scrolled to the mentioned page. After two minutes of reading it, his eyes went wide in shock at what he read.

"I know the second Bounty Rook here! Alexa Lin of the Interpol!"

"You mean "The Bloodhound of Interpol" is the second Bounty Rook?!" Ron said.

"Yes, Boss. She escaped the facility a year before Mr. Cross was brought in." Julia added, "Apart from the immortality Code: Rook gives you three, her brain functions much more efficiently than a human's. Apart from being able to decipher information quickly and read people, Alexa can read any situation and respond accordingly, which explains her Interpol strike team Azure's flawless record."

"That explains why she's a constant pain in my ass and with me in DOA 4 tournament it'll only be a matter of time before she comes after me." Neon sighed.

"What about the first Bounty Rook?" Ron inquired.

"He's Renato Agba and it's a good thing that he's off the grid. He's someone we don't want to cross paths with. He's the ultimate assassin." Neon said, "And he's apparently the most powerful of the Bounty Rooks."

"Oh shit! Not good." Ron cursed.

"He nearly killed Mako and her team when he escaped. I wish he'd done a complete job and save Miss Lin and Mr Cross from the hell they went through." Julia stated.

"What about you Neon?" Ron asked.

"I'm the second most powerful of the Bounty Rooks and my abilities make me a master of combat and all forms of warfare." Neon answered, "The ultimate soldier able to adapt to any battlefield or combat scenario."

"That explains why you were a lone wolf operative that they sent to handle all those operations back then." Ron concluded.

Neon kept on reading the other information on the data pad. Then his eyes went red with rage. Ron saw that and did not like that look.

"What did you read there that's making you wanna go ballistic right now?"

Neon stared at Ron and Julia. "The bitch Mako wants to use the Project Alpha of Victor Donovan to create a fourth Bounty Rook!"

"What the fuck!?" Ron shouted, getting the attention of the rest of the squad members who were enjoying themselves.

"She plans on using me to test it out. Her and Donovan are banking on me to win this tournament and then capture me for their crazy plan."

"It's official. Mako and Donovan are both going down!" Ron deadpanned.

"Unfortunately the Mugen Tenshin got dibs on Donovan and I got dibs on Mako." Neon said, then he gives the data pad back to Julia.

"So Neon. What do you need from me and the squad?"

"After the finals of the DOA tournament, the Mugen Tenshin will begin their assault on DOATEC. We're also joining them but we'll be staying clear of the ninjas and going for Mako. You and your squad secure her while I deal with the so called fourth Bounty Rook she's creating." Neon stated.

"If we're assisting their assault then why do the ninjas not want us near them?" Julia asked.

"Well I beat the living crap outta the current leader of the Mugen Tenshin when he thought he could intimidate me." Neon bluntly said, "The dumb ass Hayate!"

"Now he's scared of you. I'm not surprised." Ron said.

"Pretty much."

"So the plan is after the DOA 4 tournament, we join the ninjas in their assault of DOATEC and go secure Mako and drag her ass out while you put an end to her revival of Project Bounty Rook."

"Pretty much Ron. Though I'd have to let Hayate know about you and your squad."

"No problem with that."

"Does Red have a problem with my calling you guys in?"

"No he doesn't. In fact he knew this was going to happen sooner or later."

"What of Dr. Vela? Is she still safe?"

"Yeah she is. Mako still has no idea she wasn't a victim of your jail break."

"I'm glad. Keep hiding her until we put Mako down."

"Sure, though she's still worried about you."

"I know that so tell her I'm fine and I won't be falling into Mako's clutches at anytime."

"I'm glad to hear that. So how about I introduce you to the rest of the squad?"

"Okay sure. Let's see them."

Ron motioned the other two members of his squad over to the table he, Julia and Neon were on.

"Introduce yourselves you two and show some respect to him since he's still one of us even when he's not working for UN." Ron instructed.

"Sir!" The two members saluted. One male and one female.

"Nice to meet you Mr. Cross. I am Kou Santos, Assault and Demolitions of Squad 2. It's an honor." The male said. He's standing at 6'3" tall, dark skinned and clean shaved, blue eyes, built like a tank. He's wearing a blue vest, black jeans and white sneakers.

"I am Delilah Johnson, Sniper of Squad 2. A pleasure to be working with a ghost." The female said. She's standing at 5'10" tall, pale skinned, blonde hair, brown eyes, athletic body and B-cup bust. She's wearing a black tank top, orange skirt and knee-high boots.

"Nice to meet you two. I'm not a ghost even if I earned the reputation as one. I'm human like you all even with what has been done to me." Neon said.

"We know about that and the criminal Mako needs a bullet to the head." Delilah said.

"I agree. She has no right to the so called trial UN wants to give her." Kou added.

"I agree with you two but I already got dibs on executing her." Neon stated, "Hope you ain't mad about that considering that you don't like her either."

"No, Mr. Cross. If anything, you should be the one to put her down for good." Kou said.

"Yes. I'm with him on that." Delilah said.

"Thanks for your opinion." Neon said.

"Well it's nice to see you again." Ron stated, "But we'll need to stay hidden so that Mako and Donovan do not get alerted to our presence."

"Obviously. We don't want to lose the element of surprise no do we." Neon said.

Neon followed Ron and his squad out to their SUV that was at the hotel parking lot and watched them leave. He went back into the hotel and up to his room.

'I dunno what you're up to Mako but I will put an end to you and your Project Bounty Rook once and for all.' Neon thought, 'As for the other two Bounty Rooks I'll have to be more careful about them. Maybe Samara knows something about them.'

* * *

**Chapter 12 End.**


	14. Meeting Mako Again

**Dead or Alive- Dark Horse**

**Disclaimer: I do not own the Dead or Alive series, the only thing I own is my OC.**

**Meeting Mako...Again**

* * *

The other semi-finals match was done. Neon as usual didn't care to watch it, even though he had a feeling Samara did by taking control of his body. And he scolded her like she was a child to show his disapproval of that and didn't even want to know who won the second semifinals match even when she tried to tell him, though he had an idea who it was that won.

Since there were only two fighters left instead of announcing the finals in the arena as usual, DOATEC mentioned that they would be doing that during a party at night in the DOATEC Tower. Everyone was going to be there and Neon had his suspicions that Mako was going to be there to represent Victor Donovan whom he had no doubt would not even be there.

Neon had just one problem...he did not like being formal and going to a party like the one at DOATEC Tower was going to require that he dressed formal. Worse, Kasumi and Hitomi had invited him separately, to help them shop for dresses to wear for the party, which created another problem for him; both were falling for him. And while he was happy that they were interested in him, he still couldn't go to that stage. He was more than satisfied with being their friend, not lover. He had chosen to not go down the road again thanks to...certain circumstances.

Anyways the shopping trips for Hitomi and Kasumi's dresses was quite the experience for him. He had to wait for hours for both to make up their freaking minds on what dress they wanted to wear, which made him go bat shit insane and nearly commit arson. Fortunately both women got the hint and managed to get their dresses of choice and pacify the Dutch man.

* * *

**20:30 hrs, an hour before the finals party, Tokyo hotel**

Neon was waiting outside the hotel for Kasumi and Hitomi. He was wearing a white trench coat, white collared shirt, black leather belt, white trousers and white shoes. For him that was as formal as he could manage. He was also on the phone talking to Ron Russell.

"So you're going to the final party huh? I bet that Mako would be there."

"Of course she'll be there. She wouldn't miss the chance to see me again. Crazy bitch she is an all."

"No surprises there. So what do you need now?"

"You guys to do some recon of the DOATEC HQ here before the assault."

"Julia's already gotten that taken care of. She has a full scale map of the base and we've plotted our path to Mako for the grab."

"Nice one. Send her my compliments Ron."

"Will do Neon. So I'll leave you to deal with your dates."

"What dates?!"

"Well you're going to the party and I doubt that you'd go solo especially since someone like you tends to attract women like a magnet."

"Just stop right there with that line of reasoning. Anyways I'll call you later after the finals."

Neon ends the call and groans in frustration, "When the heck did he come up with that conclusion?"

He was interrupted from thinking any further by a limo coming up to him and the driver coming out.

"Mr Cross. Your ride's here." The driver said.

"So Donovan asked you to pick me up?" Neon asked.

"Yes and other fighters too."

"Okay."

Neon helped himself into the limo and closed the door and the driver got back in and continued the drive to the DOATEC Tower.

Inside the limo were the very same women that he had gone out shopping with: Kasumi and Hitomi, and in the dresses he bought for them. Kasumi wore a pink floor-length sleeveless dress, long gloves and high heels to match. Hitomi wore a light blue high neck gown with sheer back and blue low heel shoes. Neon was instantly in awe of these two women or goddesses, considering his jaw hanging already.

"Looks like somebody thinks he's in heaven." Hitomi said.

"Or is thinking something else entirely. Like undressing us with his eyes." Kasumi deadpanned.

"HENTAI!" They both shouted, getting Neon back to his senses.

"Whoa! What! Who? Eh?!" Neon blabbered as he tried to say something sensible.

"Seriously Neon. You don't have to be so perverted." Hitomi teased.

"Me? A pervert? When did you think of me as that?" Neon answered.

"Well you were looking at us with your jaw hanging and your eyes ogling us." Kasumi added, "I'd say you were being perverted."

Neon sighed, "Just end it there please before I get a major headache."

Both women giggled at his expense.

The rest of the trip was okay to say the least with Neon, Kasumi and Hitomi having friendly chats about what they plan to do after the tournament and other things. They eventually arrive at the DOATEC Tower and are escorted to the elevator that leads to the top floor.

While inside the building Neon took some to study the layout of the place since he may have to go through here during the assault after the tournament. Kasumi noticed this while Hitomi was too busy admiring the place. When they entered the elevator Hitomi pushed the button for the top floor and the elevator began its ascent.

"So are you guys excited for the party?" Hitomi asked.

"A little." Kasumi answered.

"Honestly, I'm not that excited since I'm not much of a party goer." Neon stated.

"Aw, c'mon Neon, you don't have to be such a downer." Hitomi pouted.

"Me? A downer? What makes you think so?" Neon said in mock surprise.

"You're not excited for the party. You're indifferent to what's going on and you're too blunt."

"What's wrong with being blunt? Or more like straight to the point?"

"He has a point Hitomi. Not everyone has time to sugar coat everything." Kasumi added.

"At least he should live a little." Hitomi stated.

"I do live a little or a lot. At least when I'm not in a tournament or having other things to deal with." Neon said.

"Reeaaaally?"

"Yes I do. Now just end whatever line of thinking you got there now."

"Whatever. Oh by the way you know you're my date right?" Hitomi stated.

"NANI?!" "What?!" Kasumi and Neon blurted out respectively.

"Didn't I tell you that you were my date for the party?" Hitomi pressed on.

"What are you talking about? Neon's my date!" Kasumi declared.

"What?!" "Huh?!" Neon and Hitomi exclaimed.

"From where did that come up?" Hitomi asked.

"I already told Neon that he was going to be my date for the party way before you did. So tough luck." Kasumi said.

"What?! You're lying!"

"No I'm not. You're the one who's deceiving yourself."

"How about you two share me and just shut it already?!" Neon bluntly stated, getting the women's attention and embarrassed looks on their faces.

"Well if you say so Neon." Hitomi pouted.

"That is a fair compromise." Kasumi agreed.

"Good. Now can you two behave and not draw too much attention to me?" Neon asked.

"Sure." "Hai."

"Thank you."

The elevator made a sound to confirm that they had reached the top floor. The three people stepped and got to see the large room where everyone was in. The fighters who had fought in the tournament and others were all in formal or semi-formal wear. Kasumi and Hitomi got a hold of each of Neon's arms and got too close for his comfort. Neon sighed at his predicament and they all joined the party. Of course the three of them together got the attention of some people especially a select few.

'Wow. Someone's a pimp." Zack thought.

'Why do I get the feeling that Hayate's not gonna like this?' Ryu thought.

'So he's quite the ladies man, huh?' Helena, Tina and Lisa thought.

'Must resist urge to kill him.' Hayate and Ayane thought as they eyed Neon with murder in their eyes.

'That is quite a funny match.' Christie chuckled.

Jann Lee didn't even care. Lei Fang just blankly looked at them.

'Wow. Never thought he'd get close to any woman at all.' a certain woman thought.

Eliot and Kokoro walked up to the three of them as they got to the table containing foods, snacks and drinks.

"Neon. You're looking decent." Kokoro said.

"Thanks for the compliment." Neon said.

"Um Neon. Why are they holding on to you?" Eliot asked.

"Because we're sharing him." Kasumi stated.

"No! I only agreed to that since he was supposed to be my date!" Hitomi added.

"Which is why you're sharing me like I said earlier." Neon finished, "Now can you two let go, we're causing a scene here."

And Neon was correct as everyone was looking at Neon, Hitomi and Kasumi who were still holding onto his arms. Getting irritated at the unnecessary attention, Neon decided to remove that attention.

He growled and said, "What are you all looking at?! Find something else to stare at!"

That intimidated the crowd and they all turned their eyes somewhere else and tried to avoid eye contact with the Dutch man. The party just continued on from there as people ate, drank and danced, especially with Kasumi and Hitomi glaring at each other as they wanted Neon to dance with one of the other. Neon was just hoping they don't drive him insane. After some hours had passed, a steward finally came up to the small podium.

"Ladies and gentlemen, I want to apologize on Mr. Donovan's behalf for not being here as he's very busy dealing with important matters."

'Once again, Donovan's a crappy host and I bet he's just planning on how he's going to capture me.' Neon thought.

"However he has sent someone to represent him in his place. I now present you his partner, Mako Yashiro!"

Neon growled in rage as he heard the name of his most hated enemy. Hitomi was confused at why he was pissed, Kasumi wasn't surprised at his reaction and was just as angry but she held his arm and tried to calm him down. Ryu, Hayate and Ayane weren't happy either as they also saw Neon's reaction.

A 5'7" woman, with lightly tanned skin, green eyes, and short grey hair, a heart shaped face with a scar across the bridge of her nose, medium built body with B-cup breasts, wearing a black cocktail party dress, long black gloves knee, high stocking and black high heels came up to the podium and took the mike from the steward. She looked around at the crowd and when she saw a pissed off Neon she grinned like a vixen which made him even more pissed. The ninjas did not miss that and so did Helena and Christie.

"Ladies and gentlemen, I am Mako Yashiro and I am here in Donovan's place and he extends his apologies to you all for not being here due to important things that came up. Anyways, the time has finally come, we're finally down to just two fighters, however only one fighter will became this tournament's champion. We shall see the screen up there display our two finalists."

The large HD screen monitor came down and came to life as it showed the tournament brackets that had the previous matches and competitors up until the finals bracket which displayed what Neon thought was the match up:

**Neon Cross vs Ryu Hayabusa**

Ryu had a straight, impassive face on though he was a little excited to be fighting Neon who had proven to be a unique opponent that he'd like to go up against. Neon though didn't hide his excitement as he had a huge insane grin on his face which freaked out Kasumi, Ayane and Hitomi. Hayate could only face palm at this. Tina, Helena and Lisa were staring with wide eyes. Christie was shaking her head. Jann Lee folded his arms as he muttered out curses for not being the one to fight Neon and Lei Fang shivered at Neon's insane grin.

Mako was glad to see this. Now she hopes to see how her creation would do against the Super Ninja known as Ryu Hayabusa and was confident that he'd win and she'll finally get to reclaim her lost tool.

"And this fight will be taking place four days after tonight in the DOA dome. By the way you two don't hold anything back, 'cos this is the finale!"

'Sweet! I can really bust out the big guns against the Dragon Ninja. Ryu, let's put on a show!' Neon thought.

'I'm fighting the 42nd master of Bushinryu ninpo and the notorious Bounty Rook too and without holding back. This will be an interesting match.' Ryu thought.

"Now give it up for these two fighters, they are truly the best of the best but only one will become the champion of the Dead or Alive tournament." Mako finished and the crowd started cheering for the two.

After the announcement the party went on as usual. Neon decided to separate from Kasumi and Hitomi to get some fresh air on the balcony. As he waited he heard the footsteps of someone in high heel approaching and he had an idea of who it was, as he turned around with his Glock 17 pointed at the person meeting him: Mako Yashiro.

"So you finally show yourself. About time." Neon said.

"I should be saying the same to you Neon "Grim" Cross or shall I say "Bounty Rook"." Mako said.

"Pretty ballsy of you to approach me by yourself, with no bodyguard."

"I don't need to since I'm not worried about you killing me."

"Is that so? Aren't you the one staring down the barrel of a gun?"

"True but like I said, I'm not worried about you shooting me since I did bring back up after all."

As soon as Mako said that a cloaked figure came between Neon and Mako. The unknown person threw a kick at him which Neon swayed out the way of and came back with a counter straight that they parried then retaliated with an elbow strike, which Neon ducked under and came up with a rising knee strike to the head which they dodged and stepped back from him. He felt some strange energy signature coming from the person as they leap back to Mako's side.

**'That must be bitch's new toy that she wants to test on you. Smash it when you get the chance.'** Samara said to Neon through their mental link.

'I intend to Samara.' Neon answered back, 'In fact I'll give you full control.'

**'That I'll definitely love! Looks like Christmas has come early!' **Samara said before the link ended.

"Is that your new tool to use for your mindless scheme?" Neon deadpanned.

"My greatest creation yet and I'd say may be even better than you." Mako answered with glee, "Though I'd love it if you could test her out for me, assuming you beat the super ninja Ryu Hayabusa."

"You know I intend to win. And I also intend to put you six feet under after this."

"I know all that, though you'd have to find me before you do that."

"Do you really think that Donovan would team up with you to create your ultimate being?"

"Of course I know the man would double cross me, and I already have a contingency in place when he does."

"At least you're not so stupid after all."

"Is that what you should be saying to the one who made you who you are?"

"Hmm...let me think about that...YES, you stupid bitch!"

"Humph! No matters I'll get what I want at the end Neon and there'll be nothing you can do about it."

"Keep telling yourself that and you'll soon have everything come crashing down around you."

"Sure. I'll keep that in mind. Anyways enjoy the party."

Mako walked back into the building and the cloaked figure jumped into the shadows, vanishing without a trace. Neon sighed as he holstered his gun back in his trench coat but then smirked.

'Unfortunately for you Mako, you'll never get what you want and everything will come crashing down. Enjoy those four days left because after they pass you'll be nothing but a corpse and be rotting in hell where you belong.'

Neon then went back to the party to join everyone else.

* * *

The party was still going on.

Neon was trying to enjoy the party. Sure he was excited about his finals match against Hayabusa, and his time with Hitomi and Kasumi, but the presence of Mako and her new tool soured the mood.

Standing alone in a corner of the room, Neon looked around as he saw most of the guests enjoy themselves while oblivious to what was really going on. None of them realizing what was going to happen next nor the ramifications of such actions.

Neon looked up as he noticed the music change and someone approach him. Helena Douglas and she looked like she definitely wanted answers.

"I know you've got questions and I'm more than happy to give you answers. At least the relevant ones." He said.

"Your perception ceases to amaze me." Helena complimented, "Shall we dance?"

"What?" Neon muttered in surprise.

"Just play along. Christie, Donovan's assassin is watching." Helena whispered. Neon quickly noticed said woman watching them both. "Alright. Let's dance." He said in a normal tone.

The two went to the dance floor and joined the other dancers there.

"So what's your connection to that Mako Yashiro woman?" Helena whispered.

"Let's just say that you and I have something in common in terms of someone we hate a lot." Neon whispered back, "Just like you hate Donovan since he took something from you, Mako did the same thing to me and much worse."

"Really? So who's she and why are her and Donovan they working together?"

"Mako used to be geneticist that worked for the UN. She's quite the piece of work and she ran a project that was sickening enough that some of the higher ups at UN wised up enough to shut it down and give her the boot." Neon explained, "As for how she ended up with Donovan, I don't know but with what I've found out about Donovan himself, I'd say that those two are so alike."

"So I take it that Mako wants you dead like Donovan wants for me." Helena assumed.

"No. For some reason she and Donovan need me alive for something." Neon corrected.

"The Alpha project? What would those two want you for?"

"I can't say, but I can tell you that it's not good for anyone."

The music changed again and both stopped their dance and moved back to the former contestants who were looking at them in surprise.

"Anyways whatever it is, it won't matter as it'll all end after the tournament." Neon said in a low tone.

"I agree with you there. It will all come to end after the tournament." Helena replied before walking to where Lisa was.

While Neon was wondering what she meant by that he was interrupted when Kasumi and Hitomi approached him...and they had murderous looks in their eyes.

"What?" Neon asked.

"Care to explain why you were dancing with Helena..." Kasumi began.

"...when we ARE your dates?" Hitomi finished.

Neon just face palmed. He did not need this shit!

**'Yes...Do explain to them that.' **Samara chimed in.

Great! Now Samara was in on it too.

* * *

**Chapter 13 End.**


	15. Grim Eagle vs Dragon Ninja

**Dead or Alive- Dark Horse**

**Disclaimer: I do not own the Dead or Alive series, the only thing I own is my OC.**

**Grim Eagle vs Dragon Ninja**

* * *

Neon was beyond excited. Why? Obviously because he's in the finals of the Dead or Alive Tournament and the best part, he's fighting Ryu Hayabusa in the finals! Ever since he saw him he'd been hoping for a chance to fight him and get a great match. Now he's getting a chance to really fight at his full potential. Not like he hasn't been during the tournament. He's always gone all out in his fights but according to Samara he'd been fighting at their level and not the way he's meant to be.

Neon still didn't want to accept that he's a killing machine. That is due to the fact that when he was still under Mako's control he wasn't himself. He was no mindless killer who was just sent to battle to end his targets with no remorse and just move on like it was an everyday occurrence. His mind is his own and he wants it to stay that way.

Neon knew that Samara was right about his love for battle. Heck he thought he was battle crazy. He loved a good fight. One were he would be able to push himself to defeat his opponents no matter their strength. Neon like Samara did not like weaklings. To him they were a waste of time because they couldn't make the battle fun, but he still went all out against them to obliterate them as soon as possible so that he didn't have to endure their presence anymore than necessary. However the weaklings who actually were tenacious and determined to go past their weakness were an exception. At least they're not satisfied with their weakness and were willing to go above that. That both Samara and Neon respected.

Anyways back to present, Neon had trained himself to exhaustion, with Samara in his mindscape and in the real world for the finals.

Samara actually liked that he was pushing himself for this as she knew that Neon couldn't afford to fight the way he'd been fighting in the tournament against someone like Ryu Hayabusa. If he did he'd get obliterated very quickly. She had a feeling that this was going to be an interesting match.

Hitomi had seen Neon during his intense training sessions and she wanted to join him. Neon disagreed at first but she pressed and did not relent on getting him to agree to let her train with him, so he agreed and accepted the help. Which turned out to be a good idea as Hitomi had had to stop him from over training himself on multiple occasions.

Kasumi too saw his intense training sessions and tried to get him to not go overboard his training. She got to spar with him and get flashes of Neon's Bushinryu Ninpo, and she found it interesting. But just flashes of it was not enough to make her own opinion of the style. Neon just told her, "We're ninjas. Keeping secrets is one way we get a heads up on our opponents and stay alive too." and left it at that.

* * *

It was the day before the finals match and Neon wanted to train once more and in a different way, so he went to the Tokyo gym. When he got there, he took his time to look around and gauge the guys and gals that were sparring and training there. The owner of the gym noticed him standing and watching everyone and went to meet him.

"Hey there young man." The man said, getting Neon's attention, "I see that you're looking around at everyone and everything here. What can I do for you?"

Neon looked at the ring, then the people in the gym before looking at the gym owner. "I'd like to spar here if you don't mind."

The gym owner smiled at him, "Oh you wanna spar huh? Sure you can. Can I get your name first?"

"Neon Cross."

"Neon Cross...Wait a second! You're THE Neon Cross?! The one fighting in the DOA tournament finals?"

"Yeah? What about it?"

"Wow! To meet the guy that everyone's been calling "The Dark Horse" of the tournament that's been making waves in it. You've made a name for yourself beating the vets of the tournament."

"It's nothing special. I just went into those fights and did what I do best and it's fight and win."

"So modest. You fought some tough fighters you know. That drunken fighter's one of the trickiest to fight. The karate chick Hitomi's a tough customer for anyone and the female ninja you beat was the first DOA winner. Now you're fighting the Super Ninja Ryu Hayabusa! He's never lost a match in DOA history and to many people that match is a death sentence."

"Please they are just exaggerating. He's as human as the rest of us and I'll prove it when I beat him in the finals."

"You're pretty confident aren't you? Well I'll have to see it to believe it. Anyways back to business, who do you want to spar with?"

Neon looked and pointed around the gym, "The best fighters you got here."

"Huh? Are you serious?"

"Not joking. It's part of my training for the finals match."

The gym owner looked at Neon like he'd lost his mind then sighed. "Well if it's for your training then go ahead. Your cup of tea kid."

He clapped his hands and shouted, "Hey Kenji, Liara, Naga, Rock, Dominick, all of you. We got a guest here who wants to tango with you guys. It's "The Dark Horse" himself here to spar with you all."

"At the same time." Neon added.

"Really? At the same time?! Are you joking?"

"No I'm not." Neon insisted, "I'll fight them all at the same time."

"Okay if you say so."

Five minutes later Neon was in the center of the fight mat wearing a white sleeveless shirt and black and orange Vale Tudo trunks reaching just above his knees. His hands and feet in wrappings. He was surrounded by six men and six women in their fighting wear. Neon's eyes are closed as he senses all his opponents.

The gym owner was looking from behind the barrier wondering what was going in everyone's heads. There were also a crowd of people there to watch what was about to happen.

"Are you sure about this Mr. Cross? These people aren't pushovers you know."

"I've made my decision. Ring the bell." Neon said.

"Okay."

The bell rings and the twelve opponents get into stance as Neon opens his eyes and just leaves his arms down on his sides and blankly stares at nothing.

"Don't hold back!"

* * *

Lei Fang is walking around the street looking for something to do. She's interested in the finals match taking place tomorrow and what more she's thinking about a particular fighter in the fight: Neon Cross.

'What's so special about this guy? Jann Lee's been obsessed with fighting this guy since the prelim and has been eager to fight him. Since he lost to Ryu he's been upset for not getting to meet him in the finals. From all that I've seen from him, he's someone with a mixed bag of tricks using techniques from multiple disciplines like Muay Boran, Dutch kickboxing, Street Fighting, Freestyle Wrestling, Judo, Boxing and Brazilian Jujitsu. He likes to change levels,throw people off by mixing his strikes with throws and switching his stance and has that killer instinct to end the fight when he smells blood. However he fights like a wild dog. How he's been able to get this far is a surprise to me.'

Lei Fang like many others didn't expect Neon Cross to make it to the finals of this DOA tournament. She had seen him in actions at the prelims on the Survivor. At first she thought he was just a wild brawler with his nasty finishes. Then at the second round she didn't expect him to easily drop Brad Wong early and when the drunken fighter began to turn the tables she thought Neon was done for, until he used body punches and precise leg kicks to slow Brad down and then turn the tables again before knocking him out.

Next came the quarterfinals match with Hitomi where she thought that Hitomi would even expose him more but was presented with a technical fight by the Freestyle fighter against the Karate girl, where he showed good ring generalship, lots of stance switching and good counter blows before the fight escalated into an all out slug fest and a submission finish by him. That made Lei Fang's mind do a complete 180 in her evaluation of Neon.

Finally there was his semi finals match with Kasumi where she thought he'd finally lose against the first DOA tournament winner and kunoichi. Then once again Neon blew her mind with another very skillful display. He used a lot of feinting, great footwork, mix ups, takedowns and unorthodox striking to throw the ninja off and outright dominate the match and once again Neon ended the fight with a submission. In just three matches Neon had surprised Lei fang and shown her different sides of him, defied the odds and shown his fight IQ.

'Against Hayabusa I won't be surprised if he defies the odds again. Though I don't see that happening either.' she thought. Then she heard the sounds of people shouting in amazement. It was coming from the Tokyo gym across from her.

'What's going on there that's gotten everyone going crazy?' Lei Fang thought as she crossed the road to the gym. She saw a crowd of people surrounding a certain part of the gym. When she made her way through the crowd she was taken for a spin once again. In front of her was the very man she was thinking of, Neon Cross! He had his arms folded across his chest and standing straight with his eyes closed. Around him were twelve unconscious and downed groaning people with bruises all over their bodies.

"What happened here?" she asked.

"That man...Neon Cross...beat the twelve best fighters of this gym at the same time." A man in the crowd said.

"What? Are you joking?" she asked in total disbelief.

"You should have seen it yourself young lady." The gym owner began, "It was like watching a freaking massacre. He beat them all down like they were amateurs and he barely broke a sweat."

"Hold on. That man beat twelve people by himself at the same time? And he did it with ease?!" Lei fang inquired.

"Yes! That's what happened."

Lei Fang felt her mind go blank. She didn't even notice when Neon walked away from the fight mat and back to the locker room. She's once again been trying to make sense of who this Neon Cross is and how good he really is. She was brought out of her thoughts when she heard Neon talking to the gym owner.

"Sorry about your people sir. They gave me a good workout and helped me to get ready for Hayabusa tomorrow."

"Oh...sure. Glad you had a good sparring session."

"Yeah I did. Oh...don't worry about them. They'll be fine. But here's 50000 yen for them. Treat them to something for helping me get ready."

"Huh? Really?"

"Yes really. Have a nice day."

Lei Fang turned and spotted Neon, wearing a white trench coat, an orange collared shirt, black pants and orange sneakers, leaving the gym. Now she was left with more questions and things to think about including one scary one.

'Just how good is Neon Cross?! If I had fought him in the tournament would I have even had a chance?'

* * *

**D-Day. DWA Coliseum.**

Finally the day had come for the finals of the 4th DOA Tournament and everyone was amped up for it. The finals match was between Ryu Hayabusa: The Dragon Ninja, Super Ninja, the winner of the 2nd DOA Tournament who is undefeated and Neon "Grim" Cross: The Grim Eagle, The Dark Horse of the 4th Tournament. The man who has taken the tournament by storm. The match is also going to be shown all over the world thanks to DOATEC. The odds were in and were crazy. +3000 for Neon and -5000 for Ryu?!

'Who the hell came up with those odds?!' Christie thought as she was in the stands. She had just seen the odds that came out for this finals match and like many others that was insane. Everyone else either thought it somewhat made sense because not many people gave Neon a chance in hell of beating Ryu Hayabusa, or like Christie, thought it was insane considering how Neon had defied the odds multiple times. It didn't matter as people actually went on to bet on Neon or Hayabusa.

Above the arena, Hayate and Ayane were waiting for the match to begin.

"Hayate, do you actually believe that Neon Cross has a chance against Ryu?" Ayane asked.

"To be honest, I have no idea. I've known Ryu for a very long time and he's been able to do things that no other ninja would be able to do. This Neon Cross, however, has proven to be the dangerous fighter. He's the master of Bushinryu Ninpo and he combined it with other fighting styles to form an unpredictable style. Both of us fought him and he easily wiped the floor with us. You tried to fight him again and you nearly died. And he outright dominated Kasumi in the semifinals." Hayate answered.

"Let's not forget he's a super powered person too thanks to that Bounty Rook project he was subjected to from a young age." Ayane stated, "That has made him even more dangerous. But I'm still confident that Master Ryu will come out on top. Neon may be far stronger than the average human but that's not enough against Ryu."

Hayate nodded. Ryu has beaten fiends, enemy ninjas and other monstrosities. The most Neon has beaten were terrorists and ninjas like the Mugen Tenshin ninjas based on his background and their experience with him. So naturally Ryu should have the edge but Neon has proven to be something else so he couldn't easily agree with that.

In the stands, Hitomi and Kasumi were in their seats waiting for the finals to begin.

"Hey Kasumi who do you think would win?" Hitomi asked.

"I don't know. Ryu is a very powerful ninja, easily stronger than many ninjas in the Mugen Tenshin. There's a good reason he's been called the Super Ninja; he's been able to perform feats that other ninjas could dream of. But Neon is someone who I'd admit is powerful in his own right. He's beaten the odds that had been stacked against him and he even beat me, Hayate and Ayane." Kasumi answered.

"He beat Ayane and Hayate? WOW!"

"Yes he did. Worse he made them look like children when he beat them together."

"Neon's amazing. I have a good feeling that he'll beat Ryu Hayabusa!"

"I'd say that he has the chance to."

'I just hope that he doesn't go berserk during the match and causes things to escalate.' Kasumi thought.

Everyone else was in the arena stands, all in anticipation for this big fight. Jann Lee was there with a huge grin on his face. He may not have been able to fight the Freestyle fighter thanks to Ryu but he saw the silver lining in it. He'd get to see Neon against the Dragon Ninja. So far Neon has been able to surprise him with his fight IQ in all his matches and his change of tactics for every opponent. He was eager to see what Neon had planned for Ryu in this match.

* * *

Ryu was standing calmly, arms folded, in the center of the large space where his match would take place, waiting for his opponent. Inside he was excited for this match. Though he had not met the 39th Master of Bushinryu, Guy or the 40th Master, Maki, he had met the 41st Master Kaede Asama~Cross, Neon's deceased mother, and he had fought her when she was still alive and single.

The fight was one of his most difficult ones ever as the kunoichi was so fast and agile that he was barely able to keep up and that. Not only that she hit just as hard as he did which was a shocker for him. Her technique was flawless and her insane focus were even more scary. No matter what he did she matched him move for move, blow for blow, and she hung in there with him in a crazy battle of attrition that ended in a draw.

Ryu did notice that Neon was Kaede's son until when Irene had first shown him his file and then confirmed it when he saw him beat down Hayate and Ayane. Now he was itching to fight Kaede's son and the current master of Bushinryu Ninpo.

Suddenly he sensed his opponent fast approaching and soon enough Neon "Grim" Cross rushes in front of Ryu with after images fading as he stands there. Neon was wearing a white sleeveless ninja gi with a crimson outline, a wire mesh shirt underneath the top, crimson armguards, white tabi boots and a crimson scarf. A mix of the famous Bushinryu ninja gi with a slight change. This time his hair no longer had the ponytail and his eyes were both red.

Neon just stood there staring at Ryu with a blank look in his eyes. A blank stare that Ryu remembered well. Kaede had that same look when they fought and now Ryu felt like he was fighting Kaede again.

However he was fighting her son and Ryu felt like he was looking into the eyes of a demented predator that you had no chance in hell of escaping or even beating. As if your end was guaranteed.

The announcer showed up in the announcer's box with the microphone in hand and faced the huge crowd.

"Ladies and gentlemen and everyone else that's watching around the world! It's time for the last match of the Dead or Alive 4 Tournament and only one can become the champion! Now let the match begin: Neon "Grim" Cross vs. Ryu Hayabusa!"

"Here I come Neon!" Ryu got into his stance.

"Try not to bore me Hayabusa." Neon said as he settled into a different stance than he normally used. His hands just hanging low beside him and legs spread just a bit apart.

**GET READY...FIGHT!**

Ryu charged at Neon punching and kicking, Neon was dodging all the attacks with head movement and footwork and countering with sharp kicks forcing Ryu to dodge, block and come back at him with his own attacks which Neon once again dodged and retaliated with kicks. Ryu fired a quick two punch to spin kick combo which Neon once more dodged and came back with a crescent kick to the body that Ryu blocked and continued his offence which Neon happily replied with his head movement, footwork and counter roundhouse kicks and leg kicks.

Neon decided that he was done with defense for now and switched to southpaw and rushed at Ryu with a six-kick combo comprising of leg kicks, crescent kicks, jumping roundhouse kicks and rolling sobats forcing Ryu on the defense from the wild, yet precise kicks. Neon feinted an overhand punch as he moved in on Ryu, however Ryu saw through the feint and back stepped from the rising knee strike and followup roundhouse kick. Neon feinted a low kick. Ryu didn't bite it, then Neon threw a knee feint which didn't work either as Ryu dodged the straight punch to his face.

Neon rushed in with a flurry of punches and kicks at different levels. Ryu managed to block and dodge them and countered with his own attacks.

"Very impressive. As expected from the 42nd Master of Bushinryu Ninpo." Ryu said.

"Heh...You're not bad yourself, Dragon Ninja." Neon nonchalantly answered, "Let's turn it up!"

Ryu's eyes went wide in surprise as he found himself dodging a maelstrom of kicks as Neon was now fighting at an increased pace. A few punches were thrown here and there which Ryu couldn't counter because of their odd angles and insane speed. One last thrust kick pushed a guarding Ryu back a few feet with Neon just blankly looking at his opponent. Ryu suddenly and rushed back at Neon, who just switched to orthodox as he dodged another flurry of attacks from the Dragon Ninja.

'Time for some mind fuckery.' Neon thought.

Neon dodged under one of Ryu's punches and disappeared out of sight. Ryu was wondering where Neon had gone before he saw a fist coming at him from the corner of his eye and barely dodged it. Then another one came, then another and another. All from crazy angles. After dodging the 11th punch, Ryu jumped back and finally found Neon. He was right where Ryu was, leaning back in an awkward position before he stood up straight.

'So he was right under my nose and throwing punches at me?' Ryu thought.

* * *

"What the heck was that?" Ayane asked, "He literally vanished right under Master Ryu and was throwing punches from Kami knows where."

"He was swaying under Ryu and throwing punches from all over the place." Hayate said, "Punches Ryu would have no idea where they were coming from. It's a good thing Ryu was able to dodge them or that would have been bad."

"Really? Neon did that? What other tricks does that lunatic have in his arsenal?" Ayane asked.

"A lot that we still haven't seen." Hayate deadpanned.

* * *

Neon just stared at Ryu with that blank expression still on and said, "Not bad Ryu! Once more you were able to avoid that onslaught. I'm getting more and more impressed by you."

'Are you really impressed or are you just saying that for the hell of it?' Ryu thought with a deadpanned expression.

Neon switched back to southpaw and began to walk around Ryu, with the Dragon Ninja mirroring him. Then both men charged at each other.

Neon attacking with fast and sharp kicks and Ryu with punches and kicks.

Both were a blur and still unable to land flush as their attacks were deflecting off each other's. Ryu threw a roundhouse to the body which Neon caught and countered with a spinning back elbow, which Ryu managed to dodge while on one foot and threw a somersault kick with his other leg which Neon managed to dodge and released Ryu's leg, allowing the Dragon Ninja to land.

"Whoa! Neon and Ryu are going at it so fast that I'm finding it hard to keep up." Hitomi said.

"Yes. Neon's is fighting at a scary pace. And Ryu's able to keep up with him." Kasumi agreed. 'Is this Neon at his best? Did he save this for someone like Ryu?'

Neon rapidly ran at Ryu and threw a huge hook to the body which Ryu blocked and Neon followed up with a leg kick, crescent kick and jumping switch roundhouse. Ryu blocked them all and came back with a jumping triple spin kick which Neon blocked this time. Neon returned fire with a crescent kick that was blocked and lunged at his legs going for a double leg takedown. Ryu managed to fight off the attempt and shoved the freestyle fighter off him. Ryu leaped at him, trying to grab his head but missed as Neon ducked under him and he landed away from him. Neon closed in at Ryu while turning around and then attacked with a sobat which Ryu blocked once more and had his leg grabbed by Neon again as he looked for a single leg takedown, but once more Ryu stuffed his attempt and pushed him off. Neon somersaulted at Ryu, grabbed his head while flipping over him and slammed him onto the ground landing the first hit of the match.

Ryu kicked up and got back to his feet while shaking the pain from his head and got back into stance with his eyes on Neon.

'It's like the Kaede fight all over again. I can't land a hit on Neon and he's been fighting faster and going harder. I doubt I can keep up this battle of attrition like I did with his mother. I have to end this quickly or this would be a long night for me.'

'So he survived that. Of course he would, that was just one throw. I'm beginning to get bored with this.'

Neon rushed at Ryu once more and unleashed a flurry of kicks that forced Ryu to block once more. After the ninth kick Neon threw a spinning back elbow to finish the combo.

Ryu found the opening he was waiting for and caught his attack and launched him into the air. Ryu vanished and reappeared in mid air and grabbed Neon from behind and both went spinning to the ground head first. The crowd was cheering as the y saw Ryu land his infamous Izuna Drop on Neon as he hit the ground hard as Ryu jumped away from him.

"No way is Neon getting up from that!" Ayane said, "That is one of Master Ryu's most powerful attacks!"

"Agreed. He hit the ground hard on that one." Hayate said.

"That really hurt. Do you think Neon's going to get up from that?" Hitomi asked as she cringed from the impact of the Izuna Drop.

"I don't think so. Ryu landed that attack hard. I don't see Neon getting up from that." Kasumi said.

Ryu relaxed his stance as he looked at Neon's prone form and thought it was over.

'Hopefully that ends this. Neon was becoming more and more difficult to keep up with like Kaede. Only difference is that she never gave me the chance to use that on her.'

As the announcer was about to call the match, a maniacal laugh erupted from Neon as he sat up from the ground, shocking everybody and leaving jaws hanging and eyes opened wide.

'How?! How did he get up from that?!' Ryu thought.

"N-No w-w-way!" Hitomi stuttered.

"Once again Neon defies the odds again." Kasumi said.

"ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!" Ayane shouted.

"Just how resilient is this man?!" Hayate said in shock.

"WHAT IN TARNATION!" Tina and Bass both said at the same time.

"Why am I not surprised?" Jann Lee said.

Lei Fang was too busy rebooting her mind at what she saw. So were Eliot, Kokoro, and Helena. Hell even Brad had to throw away his bottle of whiskey just to be sure that he was not losing his mind.

'I knew he was resilient but not THIS resilient!' Christie and Bayman thought.

'The Bounty Rook's resiliency lives up to its reputation.' Lisa thought.

"That's Neon "Grim" Cross, The Bounty Rook, for you." Ron Russell said from his team's safe house while his team members were getting their jaws off the ground.

After Neon was done laughing, he got himself to his feet, feeling a little wobbly after that move but still able to stand straight.

"Okay...OW! That really hurt...OOOWW! I change my mind, that really, really hurt...OOOOOWWWWW! SON OF A BITCH! THAT FUCKING HURTS!"

**'Consider yourself lucky that your body's this resilient.' **Samara told Neon, '**Even I'm hurting from that and I'm inside you!'**

'Thanks for that one Samara. I appreciate it. You rest that headache off while I put an end to this now!' Neon mentally replied.

**'Really? Well don't wanna miss this!'**

'And your headache?'

**'I've had worse!'**

'Okay. Moving on.'

Neon got back into his stance in southpaw, with his blank look on his face again.

"That's the hardest that I've been hit in the whole tournament, Ryu. I knew that you'd make this fun and guess what you damn sure did! Now it's time for the endgame."

Next thing Ryu knew, he was caught in another maelstrom of punches and kicks from all so many angles. He could see the demented grin on Neon's face as he increased the tempo of his attack even more than before. Ryu once more showed why he was the Super Ninja as he blocked all the attacks.

Neon ended the combo with a haymaker that broke through Ryu's guard. Ryu jumped out of the way as Neon came down with an overhead kick, which created a small crater on the spot where Ryu was on. The Dragon Ninja not backing down rushed back at Neon, who accepted the challenge and met him head on.

The crowd was going even wilder as they witnessed these two not backing down and swinging for the fences. Once again Neon got the best of the exchange as he ducked under a right elbow strike from Ryu and came up over the top of Ryu's follow up left hook with his own left hook and landed flush dropping him on his back. He followed after the dazed Dragon Ninja and assaulted him with ground and pound trying to put him away.

The crowd was going insane at Neon's comeback from that near finish and were even more amazed at Ryu's recovery from the onslaught as Ryu stopped Neon's barrage and pushed him off and got back up to his feet. He rushed at Neon once more but attacked with kicks. Neon sighed as he exchanged kicks with him both unable to land a hit on the other. Then Neon attacked with a left hook as Ryu slipped to his left to avoid it, that is if that attack actually came as it was a feint and Neon connected with a roundhouse kick to the temple dropping Ryu again. Neon followed after him again and attacked at him with elbows from the top, Ryu blocked them and tried to scramble from under him. Neon did not let him go and caught his neck and put him in a Peruvian Necktie submission. Ryu struggled and somehow managed to escape the submission but found himself in an armbar with Neon on the bottom. As Ryu tried to get out, Neon switched to a triangle choke and continued his attack. Ryu got out again and found himself in an omoplata this time. Ryu once again defended well and slipped out of the submission and stepped away from Neon and the freestyle fighter stood up after.

'This is getting too much! I have to end it now!'

'Looks like the end's here. Good. Time to bust out THAT TECHNIQUE.'

Ryu and Neon rushed at each other. However Neon suddenly stopped catching Ryu by surprise. He used that moment to grab Ryu as he said, "Sayonara!" before landing a few punches and kicking Ryu away from him. Ryu rolls and stumbles back up just as Neon shunsined right in front of him and attacks with a flurry and punches and kicks then kicks Ryu back. Ryu stumbles and staggers back and Neon appears in front of him again and thrashes him with a flurry of punches, elbows, knees and kicks before sending him back with a haymaker. Once more Ryu staggers away and is grabbed from behind and violently turned around and one more assaulted with kicks from Neon until he stuns Ryu with a spinning back elbow and then Neon crouches down as he says, "It ends here!" Then he hit him with six high speed attacks going back and forth and ended the attack with a capoeira kick that sent Ryu flying up. Neon stood up and did the nine seals before Ryu landed back on the floor with a huge thud that echoed around the arena as he folded his arms.

"NEO BUSHIN MUSO RENGE." **(New Warrior God's Unmatched Reaping.)**

To almost everyone that watched all they saw was Ryu Hayabusa being hit and pinballed by blurs and then sent sky high before he landed back down hard while Neon stood there with his arms folded. However only the other ninjas and Ron Russell saw the ultimate technique of the Bushinryu Ninpo with Neon's own twist.

'That was the Bushin Musō Renge.' The ninjas all thought in awe.

'More like the Neo Bushin Musō Renge.' Ron Russell thought, 'Neon, once again you amaze me. No wonder why you're designated as "The Battle Master" Bounty Rook.'

**WINNER!**

"Now that's a fight I'll never forget ever! Thank you very much for the fight Ryu Hayabusa!"

After the announcer said it the silent stadium exploded with thunderous screaming and cheering for Neon "Grim" Cross. Once again "The Dark Horse" defied the odds and defeated an opponent no one thought could be beaten considering his strength and reputation among everyone that had fought in the tournament. He remembered when he had conquered the Dutch underground fighting circuit and people were cheering for his win but it was nothing compared to this, the crowd was ten times the size of the crowd at the underground arena. Neon had a greater feeling of achievement for winning this. He looked up and saw Kasumi and Hitomi smiling and cheering at him with their cheeks blushing, Jann Lee with a huge grin on his face and nodding his head in approval, Hayate, Ayane, Lei Fang, Bass and Bayman trying to pick their jaws from the ground, Eliot, Kokoro, Tina, Lisa and Helena cheering at him and finally Christie seductively smiling at him which creeped him out.

While the cheering was still going on Kasumi, Hitomi, Eliot and Kokoro rushed out of the stands and jumped over the barriers to the arena floor to personally congratulate Neon personally. Neon actually felt embarrassed this time but he gathered his wits and raised his left fist into the air.

"WORLD CHAMPION! BOOM SHAKALAKA!"

* * *

**Chapter 14 End.**


	16. The Finale: Mako's downfall

**Dead or Alive- Dark Horse**

**AN: Finally the endgame is here. This has been one hell of a roller coaster for me as I put the finishing touches on this story and move on to my other ones. I'll try to make it good enough for everyone who has been reading it. So without delay let's roll!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own the Dead or Alive series, the only thing I own is my OC.**

**The Finale: Mako's downfall**

* * *

Neon had done it! He won the Dead or Alive 4 Tournament and was so happy for it. It wasn't even easy to do so as he had to constantly change his approach to every fight he was in as he went further.

Against Brad Wong he had to use leg kicks to make it easier to take out the drunken fighter. Against Hitomi, he had to be more technical and push the pace to beat the karate chick. Against Kasumi, he had to make use of footwork, head movement, mix ups and use of angles to win that match. As for Ryu Hayabusa, he utilized the very style he used to become the 42nd Bushinryu Ninpo Master and one of its most powerful techniques to win against the Dragon Ninja. Speaking of which, Ryu had recovered quickly from the match. What was crazier was that he recovered from the devastating results of the Neo Bushin Muso Renge, which made Neon to respect him even more.

After the celebration and getting the prize money and all which he divided between him and Hitomi, Neon decided to retire for the night. That fight took a lot out of him physically and mentally. However this time, he slept in the Ron and his squad's safe house since he had a suspicion about Mako knowing which room he was in the hotel.

Also it was that night things changed completely for Neon and for good too.

* * *

_"Hey Samara! What do you want to talk about?" Neon asked as he showed up in the burning mindscape._

_**"It's something important." **__Samara replied, __**"One that will change your life for good."**_

_"Alright. I'm listening."_

_**"You remember that cloaked bitch you met at the party?" **_

_"The one that showed up while I was talking with Mako? Yeah I about her?"_

_**"She's very powerful and she reminded me of Kasumi."**_

_"What do you mean?"_

_**"Well she felt like Kasumi but she wasn't Kasumi."**_

_"Meaning that it's a clone of her."_

_**"Exactly. Glad you could figure that out."**_

_"Did you think I was stupid?!"_

_**"Nope. Well back to our talk, that is Kasumi's clone and she has the same energy I have."**_

_"She also has Code: Bounty Rook in her. No less given to her by Mako. Great..."_

_**"And with that she's a lot more powerful than you even if you utilize Code: Bounty Rook."**_

_"That sounds troubling. Speaking of which Kasumi mentioned her clone when she told me her story. This may be the same one."_

_**"Could be or not. Still if you engage her you will lose very badly and I don't think I want to imagine that happening."**_

_"If what you're saying is true then how do we deal with her then? I have a feeling that Donovan and Mako have data of my fighting style and have uploaded it into her to counteract whatever I have in mind."_

_**"I've got one solution, Neon though it's one that you're not so keen on doing."**_

_"You mean us becoming one? You already know that I'm against that idea."_

_**"I know that you don't like it but it's our best shot at beating that clone. Not only that it'll save us too."**_

_"What do you mean?"_

_**"We were supposed to be one entity years back when you were under Mako's control. This was meant to happen after your body got used to my essence. However you regaining control and your attempt to resist me have caused your body to degrade and soon we'll both be dead for good."**_

_"Are you serious?! So I'm going to die?"_

_**"You've should have died years ago. It's only because of me that your body has held together and we've been able to still exist. So unless we become one we're finished."**_

_"Maybe it's better that I die. I have nothing left to live for after all. My family's dead and it's just been constant battles ever since then. I'm sick and tired of it all."_

_**"DON'T YOU DARE GIVE ME THAT Remy Cross!"**_

_Neon was surprised when Samara yelled at him and used his real name too._

_"Samara?!"_

_**"Don't you dare say that Remy! Do you think I wanted this? I sure as hell didn't! So what if you lost your family, do you think you'll be doing anyone favors if you just died off? Red, Ron and Vela would be sad if you died especially Vela since she has feelings for you. Same for Hitomi and Kasumi and hell Tina, even though you met them in this tournament. Look Remy, I may have been an elemental jinn but you've also been like the little brother I wish I had. I'd still want to enjoy my existence but I'm just another soul in your body. You however still have a life and I'd prefer that you live it to the fullest. If this union would help you to live, then I'll happily take it and not look back."**_

_Neon was shocked at Samara's words. He never expected her to talk to him like that, nor did he expect that she saw him like a brother. When he thought about it he realized that she was right, he still had something to live for. His godfather and god brother Red and Ron Russel, Dr. Vela and maybe even Hitomi and Kasumi though those two are a case that may not blossom. Not only that there's the fact that Mako would just make more of him and continue whatever twisted plots she has. Well he can't have that now would he? He may no longer be Remy Cross but he's still a man with a life to live._

_"Samara...Thanks."_

**_"Glad to see that you're back to the guy I know. Now let's become one and live on."_**

_"Right. Once again thank you Samara."_

_**"Actually I should be thanking you but you're welcome none the less. However I'll warn you, once we do this there's no going back and we'll no longer be the same."**_

_"I know that. I'm ready for this."_

_**"Good to know. Now brace yourself...this is gonna hurt like a bitch."**_

_"Like I don't already know that."_

* * *

**D-Day**

It was getting dark and the time for the DOATEC assault was approaching. All those involved in the assault were meeting on top of a skyscraper across from the DOATEC HQ. There's Hayate, the 18th Master of the Mugen Tenshin Ninja Clan, with some of his ninjas at the ready; Ayane, the current master of the Mugen Tenshin's Hajinmon Sect and younger half-sister of Hayate; Ryu Hayabusa, heir to the Hayabusa Ninja Clan and famous known as The Super Ninja; Kasumi, younger sister of Hayate and the unfortunate runaway ninja of the Mugen Tenshin; and Ron Russell, nephew of UN's Chief of Security Jake "Red" Russell and leader of UNWOP's Squad Two, along with the rest of his 4-man squad. The Mugen Tenshin ninjas were keeping a fair distance from Kasumi, Ron Russel and his team. The only person left was Neon "Grim" Cross, the winner of the Dead or Alive 4 Tournament, 42nd Master of Bushinryu Ninpo and the notorious ultimate being, The Bounty Rook.

"Where's Neon? Isn't he the one who said that he'd be assisting us with our assault?" Hayate asked, clearly impatient.

"I'm sure he's on his Hayate. So be a little more patient." Ryu said.

"He's right, Hayate. Neon will be here very soon." Ron added, "Besides I know that he wouldn't miss this for anything."

"Ron Russell, right? So you're the one Neon called in to assist us?" Ryu asked, getting a nod in return.

"Yeah I am. It's an honor to meet the legendary Dragon Ninja himself." Ron remarked, "And I came with my squad to help my god brother out."

"God brother huh? That's new." Ayane chimed in.

"Well he's been my god brother ever since he was born. Whether you believe it is your own problem."

"Does your boss know about your team being involved in this?" Hayate asked.

"Yeah. He knows about this op and so does the UN Secretary-General, who gave her approval on it too. Just those two alone know that me and my team is here." Ron answered.

"Ron Russell, I'd like to say thank you." Kasumi said.

"Okay...For what if I may ask?" Ron asked, clearly off balanced.

"It was thanks to you, your uncle and the psychiatrist that Neon is able live a normal life and not as someone's tool."

"Uh, sure...You're welcome...Miss Kasumi." Ron said, "Besides there was no way I'd let him keep being used as some demented woman's weapon. And tonight will be the last time she messes with anyone's life."

"Damn right about that Ron! Damn right!" Came from an incredibly calm voice putting everyone on edge.

"Who are you? Show yourself!" Hayate demanded as everyone was reaching for their weaponry.

"Wow! Now that's rich. My voice just changes a bit and you all don't recognize me anymore? Ease up people, the final member of this group's here.

Out of the shadows came a man standing at 6'3" with black hair that reaches his shoulder, brown skin, green eyes, medium athletic and muscular frame, tribal tattoos on his arms. He is wearing a grey sleeveless body suit, with white gloves, arm guards and ninja shin guards and tabi boots. Behind him on his back are two holsters for his Glock 17 pistols.

"Neon? Is that you?" Kasumi asked in surprise.

"The one and only. Who else were you expecting? Santa Clause?" Neon deadpanned.

"About time you showed up, Hayate here was getting impatient." Ron said, "What's with the new look?"

"Let's just say that it's the start of a chapter in my life and leave it at that." Neon said in a solemn tone.

"Okay. I won't pry any further." Ron said.

"Hey Neon...Are you trying to rip off my outfit?" Ryu asked with a raised eyebrow.

Neon scoffed, "Dunno and honestly don't care!" Then he turned to look at Hayate and Ayane. "I see that the Ayane, the queen of arrogance's here and so is Hayate."

"WHY YOU..." Ayane hissed.

"We have more important things to worry about than your bickering." Hayate chided.

"Whatever. So I see that you've gotten yourself familiar with my god brother Ron Russell." Neon said.

"Yes. I have and now down to business."

"Agreed. No room for any screw ups here."

The group offensive involved a full blown assault on the DOATEC's Tritower. Hayate, Ayane, Ryu and the Mugen Tenshin shinobi would engage the DOATEC's private army. Kasumi would infiltrate in and make her way to deal with her clone, Neon would do the same and make his way to his own target, The Fourth Bounty Rook which was more or less the clone too, and Ron Russel and Squad 2 would use the ensuing chaos from the assault to get in, make their way to Mako Yashiro, capture her and extract her from the Tri-tower where she's been confirmed to be. After everyone confirmed what they would be doing, the assault began.

* * *

The assault was a chaotic shit storm according to the DOATEC's private army soldiers who were getting attacked on all sides by Mugen Tenshin ninjas. Also Hayate and Ayane were wrecking the place with their own vicious attacks with Ayane preparing a nasty present for them. Hayabusa was being the Super Ninja as usual, taking down troops and helicopters! Kasumi had managed to sneak in and was looking for her clone. Ron Russel and his squad had made their way into the Tritower and were on their way to wherever Mako was hiding.

Neon was having the time of his life. After he had gotten into the Tri-tower, he had first tried to be subtle by sneaking past them and stealth killing some guards. However that got boring quickly and so he decided to cut loose and go on a kill spree. He was killing guys left and right in many ways. Some with his twin Glock 17s in akimbo style, quickly taking them out via double taps or single head shots, some he had the pleasure of breaking the bones in their bodies with his hands and feet before mercifully killing them and for overkill he used his elemental power of negative energy flames to burn the life out of the rest. And he was clearly enjoying every bit of it. Hell to keep things interesting he tried to give them false hope by giving them a head start, only to slaughter them like cattle. Whoever knew he was this sadistic? Oh wait...he did!

"Hey Ron. Any luck on your end?" Neon spoke through his headset.

_"We've finally managed to locate Mako. Problem is there's a lot of her personal troops between us and her." _Ron replied.

"You need backup?"

_"No need. My and the team can handle this no problem. We've handled more difficult missions and this one is nothing compared to it and heck, with those ninjas around our job's a hell of a lot easier."_

"Don't get cocky Ron! And see ya at the other side."

_"I should be saying the same thing to you, Neon. And good luck to you too."_

Neon cut the comm-link and continued running down the corridors of the building, taking out the soldiers left and right.

Soon he was in another corridor, glass walls were on both sides of it and the ceiling too was made of glass. While walking through it he sensed something a huge level of power along with the killing intent enough to make a normal person pass out. Good news, Neon was not a normal person.

_'So it knows that I'm around. Good, no point trying to be subtle. We'll be settling this soon.'_

Neon continued making his way to where that power and intent were coming from. However when he entered the next room he ran into someone he was not in the mood to see and he drew out one of his Glock 17s and managed to shoot the bullet that the other person fired at him. Staring down the sights Neon could see Christie looking at him with a seductive look in her eyes while licking her lips. She's wearing a white and black catsuit with matching boots and brown leather straps around waist, wrists, and neck and pointing her Beretta 92 FS at him.

"Now what do we have here? A lost mouse scurrying about where it doesn't belong?" Christie asked in a sickly sweet tone that Neon ignored.

"Nice try Christie! You'll need more than that to take me out. Finally here for round 2?" he asked.

"Round 2? Who are you? I sure as hell don't know you boy!" Christie retorted in surprise.

"Aww! I can't believe you've forgotten about me so quickly Christie." Neon said in mock sadness, before turning serious, "Though it shouldn't be a surprise since I've changed completely."

Christie was dumbfounded at this man in front of her. For some reason he knows her and was even telling her him changing a lot. She quickly observed him more carefully and then it hit her like a ton of bricks.

"Neon Cross?!" Christie said in shock.

"DING! DING! DING! We have a winner! Give the assassin a prize!" Neon said as he acted like a game show host.

"W-what are you doing here?" Christie asked as she glared at him. As much as she wanted payback for what Neon did to her all those years ago, she knew that she didn't have a chance in hell of beating him in a fight after what Mako told her about him being the "Master of Battle" and seeing him in action throughout the tournament did more than enough to cement that fact in her head. She was now glad that she didn't meet him in the tournament or it would have ended really badly for her.

"Dealing with some unfinished business." Neon answered her, "Now are you going to get out of my way or do I have to erase you from existence?"

"No I'm not." Christie said as she lowered her weapon, "I won't get in the way of someone who's way out of my league. What about you, will you get in mine?"

"I remember telling you that "I don't give a damn about why you're in the tournament and I won't get in your way but if you mess with me again I promise you I'll kill you.". Am I right?"

"Yes I remember that, Bounty Rook or may I say 'Master of Battle'."

"I take it that Mako told you that. Whatever, I don't care since this will be her last night alive, after I deal with her newest abomination."

"Do you mean Alpha 152 or may I say the 4th Bounty Rook? I know where she is."

"Do tell..."

"Charming as usual I see. Well she's somewhere in the labs and she's fighting our kunoichi friend Kasumi, though the latter is not doing so good."

**"OUTTA MY WAY!"**

Neon rushed past Christie at an insane speed that nearly sent her off her feet. After the dust cleared she no longer found him inside the room she was in and she sighed in relief.

"Well that was nerve racking. The power he's generating freaks me the hell out. Is that how all those other two Bounty Rooks are?" Christie said to herself. She then shook her head to get those thoughts out of her.

"Forget it! I have other business to deal with!"

She then left the room too, on her way to her own target.

* * *

Mako Yashiro didn't seem to have any care in the world to notice that DOATEC HQ was under attack and that the place was in chaos. She was too busy watching through her monitor the fight between the Mugen Tenshin nukenin, Kasumi and the clone known as Alpha 152 or more like her 4th Bounty Rook. The clone was thrice as fast and powerful as the original plus she had teleportation and levitation abilities. Kasumi was putting up a decent fight against her clone but was coming up short as it was outdoing her no matter what she tried. The only reason why she was still hanging there was because it she was the original and so she did what the original did.

Another problem that Mako didn't bother to care about was the fact that Donovan and DOATEC had lost control of the clone as it had nothing but hate for the world and wanted to destroy it and she was going to start with Kasumi. Mako only had one more thought in mind.

_'Where the hell is Neon? I'd love nothing more than to see him struggle against this being.'_

That's right. Mako wanted to see Neon Cross, the 3rd Bounty Rook go up against this monster and funny enough Alpha 152 seemed to want the same thing.

The clone had sensed him in the building and she flared her energy to get his attention and it seemed that it got his attention as he was on his way to meet her. However she had to get rid of her original self first. She was just too stubborn to go down. She had smacked Kasumi around the danger room they were in but she just kept getting up and coming back for more. No matter her _real_ opponent would be here soon and she'll love to tear him to shreds.

Kasumi however was not liking her current predicament. She had managed to track down Alpha 152 and she went after it with the intent of destroying it for good. Unfortunately for her that turned out to be easier said than done. Worse that vile woman Mako Yashiro had just informed her that Alpha 152 was modified to be three times better than her, thanks to applying code: Rook, and that Kasumi had no chance against. She also added insult to injury saying that Kasumi wasn't the clone's true opponent. It didn't take the kunoichi much to put two and two together to realize what she meant. Alpha 152 was meant to fight Neon and now she was extremely worried for him.

_'I have to defeat this thing before Neon shows up or else this will end badly.'_ Kasumi thought as she barely stayed standing and glared at her clone.

**"Miss Kasumi. Quit this pointless resistance. Like I said you are not Alpha 152's true opponent. At most you are the appetizer before the main course. So just die already!" **Mako said through the speakers in their battleground.

Kasumi tried to assume her stance but her body was in so much pain from the beating she had endured. She had managed to land some strong hits on her clone but it looked like this glowing entity wasn't fazed by the damage.

"Sorry but if you want to fight Neon then you'll have to get past me!"

Seeing that Kasumi was not backing down the clone proceeded to charge at her once more intent on ending this farce once and for all. Kasumi braced herself for the charge only for nothing to connect on her. Instead she heard a loud SMACK! and saw the clone flying back and landing on the explosive floor before teleporting back up. Kasumi looked up and gasped as the person in front of her was the same person she didn't want here, and he had a sadistic grin on his face as he cracked his knuckles.

"Neon?! Why are you here?" Kasumi asked in anger. This was her fight and she didn't want Neon getting involved even though her opponent had other ideas.

"Don't get mad at me Kasumi." Neon replied in a calm voice, "It looks like that abomination over there called me out and I'm not one to back down from a fight."

**"That's right. Neon Cross! About time you showed up too. Alpha 152 was getting impatient and you just had to take your sweet time to show up here. She had to take out her frustrations on poor Kasumi here and would have been done with her had you not shown up."**

"Ah...the pathetic bitch Mako. Enjoying your arena side seat up there I take it?" Neon said staring up at the camera.

**"Best seat in the house if I may say." **Mako replied,** "Now it's time to see who's superior: The 3rd Bounty Rook also known as the "Master of Battle" or The 4th Bounty Rook who I'd called the "Ultimate Destroyer"."**

"Well too bad you're about to be disappointed because this wouldn't even be a fair fight. And when I'm done here...you're next." Neon stated before he turned to look at Alpha 152 who was just standing there. He noticed the clone smirk at him and he returned the gesture.

"Kasumi...I know that you have every right to destroy this abomination here, however, this thing called me out and I don't intend to back down from the challenge." Neon said.

"But what if you lose control?!" Kasumi retorted, "Neon, this is my problem! I know that you want to destroy her too but this is my fight!"

"Yeah and so is mine. Now sit back and rest up while I ruin this...**thing's** day."

Neon walked past Kasumi towards the eager clone and now fellow Bounty Rook. He stopped a few feet from and just motioned to it to come at him.

"Try to make this entertaining for me, you insect." Neon said with a sadistic grin on his face.

Alpha 152 just tilted her head as she looked at her foe like he was had grown another head. Did he think that he was superior to her? Ha! She'll make him regret that soon enough! And with that the battle between two ultimate beings began.

Alpha dashes at Neon and throws a flurry of kicks at him at varying levels. Neon matched her blow for blow with his own kicks. After no one gets the upper hand, they both leap back and stare at each other. Alpha 152 looking indifferent while Neon looks bored, which seems to piss the clone off and it rushes at him once more. It throws a flurries of strikes and kicks which Neon defends against with head movement, elbow blocks, and leg blocks while grinning at her. She then throws a punch and Neon counters by headbutting the punch and follows up with a stepping elbow which Alpha avoids by teleporting behind him. It tries to capitalize on her advantage only to get hit by a left reverse elbow and then teleporting before the spinning back fist lands. Once again she tries to capitalize and then has to block a handspring kick.

"If you think that I'd let you beat me with a magic show trick like that then you'd better think again." Neon said, doing the finger wag.

Alpha 152 not liking that, went nuts as she rushed at Neon throwing another kick combo and once again found herself hitting nothing but air as Neon dodged kicks with a butterfly twist. To add insult to injury, when he landed, Neon had his back turned and was trying to pump up an imaginary crowd. When he turned back to face his opponent, he was met by Alpha 152 landing a three punch combo on his face. Then she landed two kicks to his lead leg and hit him with a rolling sobat to the body pushing him back, just slightly. Neon just looked at Alpha 152 whom he saw smiling as she implied 'How do you like that?'. Neon just smirked and chuckled.

"What were those? Mosquito bites? Or are you just that weak?"

Kasumi and Mako both watched him as if he was insane.

_'Is he trying to make her mad?'_ / _'He must really have a death wish.' _They thought respectively.

They got their answer as the enraged clone rushed at Neon trying to take his head off for that insult. She threw multiple punches that hit nothing but air as Neon easily slipped and ducked them until he caught an outstretched arm and pounded the body with shovel hooks, then threw the clone over his shoulder to the floor while holding the arm. Alpha 152 tried to counter by pulling Neon into a triangle choke which he powered out of by power bombing her and punishing with ground and pound. The clone caught one of his punches and went for an arm bar and this time Neon slipped out of the submission and then stomped her in the mid section before giving the clone room to stand up.

Neon switched to southpaw and began his own onslaught. He surprised the clone as he quickly closed in and let loose a flurry of punches and varying levels forcing her to cover up and ending the flurry with a left leg kick that hit home. Then he launched a slashing knee which the clone teleported from only to have to block an overhead kick from Neon once more and getting another finger wag. Alpha 152 came at him with a left crescent kick which Neon caught. This time she threw another a roundhouse with her other leg which Neon avoided with a sway then with that same leg she pulled off a back flip kick and hit Neon in the jaw forcing him to let go of her leg. After landing, the clone rushed at Neon and threw a left hook which Neon caught by using his leg to trap the hand and pulled her down to her to a knee before kneeing her in the face and putting her on her ass. The clone got up only to be sent back down on her ass with a push kick to the face.

"You're meant to be the "Ultimate Destroyer"? What a joke!" Neon insulted his foe. "You're not even worth my time."

Alpha 152, even more enraged, levitated to her feet and dove at him with a high speed attack which Neon rolled away from. She came at him again with the same move and once more Neon rolled away. She tried a third time and got cracked by a well timed right somersault kick from Neon sending her into the air and crashing back down.

* * *

Mako Yashiro could not believe what she was seeing. She had expected Alpha 152 to crush Neon like an ant thanks to the boost from code: Rook but instead she was watching Neon Cross toy with Donovan's ultimate weapon and making it look like a third rate fighter. She then zoomed in on Neon and then noticed his eyes. They were both green which made her shocked and begin to panic.

_'Shit! Shit! Shit! His eyes...He has the same eyes that Renato Agba had when he escaped! Meaning he did the same thing that man did! Crap! This is bad! Why the hell did I not notice this before?!'_

"So you figured it out hey Mako." said a voice that caused the scientist to freeze while on her seat. Then she turned around to see people she never expected to see and all with their guns aimed at her.

"Ron Russell!? What the hell are you doing here?! How did you get in here?!" Mako cried out in absolute shock.

"Bringing you in that's what!" Ron answered with a smug grin, "By the way that abomination of yours has officially lost already. The moment Neon fully assimilated code: Rook into him like Renato Agba did, it sealed Alpha 152's fate."

"And how do you know that? That's classified information." Mako asked.

"I had my ways." Ron confidently answered, "Now sweet dreams woman."

"What do you-"

Next thing Mako knew everything went black before she passed out due to a tranquilizer dart in her neck , courtesy of Julia Dantas.

"Thank you for giving the order to shut her up." she said as she holstered the tranquilizer pistol she used.

"Well that's what we came here for. Grab and go." Ron stated.

"What about Neon Cross, sir? Do you think he'll need help?" Kou Santos asked.

"Nope. He won't need it." Ron answered, "Plus, if you came in there he'd sooner kill you for getting in the way of his fight."

"I see sir."

"Good. Now that we're done we'll be getting out of here. I have a feeling that that Ayane girl should be done with her little present for DOATEC and being here would be a bad idea. Move out!"

"Yes Boss!"

* * *

Back in the danger room Kasumi had managed to recover a bit from the damage she took earlier and was now leaning by the wall watching in awe at Neon's thrashing of her clone. The two ultimate beings were now exchanging blows in a high speed slugfest that Neon forced Alpha 152 into, thanks to her frustration at getting beaten by someone else.

_'He's just toying with her. He could end this anytime he wants yet he's drawing it out.'_ Kasumi thought as she now saw her clone losing in the exchanges and getting pummeled by Neon.

Neon switched stance again to orthodox and began to use footwork to move about his opponent. Alpha 152 kept trying to land a hit by Neon easily stepped out of the way and came back with snappy left hooks to the head. After the 3rd left hook, the clone came forward with a front kick which Neon dodged around to her back and he grabbed her waist and german suplexed her. While maintaining a hold on her he flipped back to back side control and proceeded to pummel her with punches and knees. Alpha 152 managed to get up but Neon still held on to her and then german suplexed her again. She got up again and Neon german suplexed her back down again. Then Neon took her back and flattened her out and went to town on the helpless clone as he unleashed vicious punches on her head. Alpha 152 tried to buck him off as she blocked his onslaught but Neon maintained control and kept the assault going. After two more attempts she slipped out through the back door...and into an armbar! When he flattened her on her back, Alpha 152 immediately kicked Neon in the head and got out of the submission and to her feet followed by Neon who just shook off the kick.

Neon rushed at the clone and landed a fast double jab to left hook combo. Alpha 152 came back with a roundhouse kick to the head which missed and followed up with a sweep kick. Neon jumped over the attack and came down with an axe kick to the head that face planted the clone on the explosive floor. Alpha 152 teleported back to her feet after the small explosion and just glared at him. Neon just shrugged with outstretched arms.

"Well I'm done with playing with my food. It ends here." Neon said before becoming surrounded by black flames. Kasumi had to get a good distance away as she felt her life getting drained by the heat.

Once more frustration kicked in and Alpha 152 rushed at Neon once more, not caring about the heat draining its life force. Neon had to give the clone some credit. She was a persistent one but like he said he'd dragged this fight long enough and now it's time to drop the curtains. As the clone got close he rushed in with a Hozanto attack, smashing his shoulder into her as he turned around, sending Alpha 152 flying back and on her back and with flames on it. It ignored the flames, getting back up once more and rushing at Neon again with a leg kick which he countered with an overhand right stunning her and pummeled the clone with a flurry of straight punches to the head and chest and a back knuckle to the jaw. Then he landed a triple kick combo to the leg, body and head and finished it off with a 540 spin hook kick that broke something and launched Alpha 152 back to the floor.

Neon then summoned a small ball of fire in his hand as he turned around from the clone which was still getting up again. It began charging at him but then suddenly found itself screaming in agony as it was set ablaze by a ball of fire smacking her in the chest. Seconds later there was nothing left of Alpha 152.

"What a disappointment!" Neon scoffed as the flames around him faded completely, "Ultimate Destroyer my ass!"

Then the area shook as explosions were going off and rocking the place.

"What the hell was that?" Neon asked.

"Ayane must have finished with the Art of The Raging Inferno jutsu and is now blowing up the Tri-tower." Kasumi stated, "Neon! We have to go!"

"You don't have to tell me twice!" Neon yelled as they both ran out of the danger room.

"Yo Ron! Are you guys done? The place is gonna blow!" Neon said to his headset.

_"Yeah we're done on our end Neon. We got Mako with us and are already outside." _Ron replied.

"Well I just finished here and me and Kasumi are getting the hell out of here!"

_"Alright! Now get outta dodge already!"_

"That's what I'm doing already!"

Neon and Kasumi were running through corridors and hallways while dodging explosions and leaping over corpses, glass and rubble. Explosions kept rocking the Tritower as it slowly fell apart. As they reached another corridor that overlooked the way they came from Neon decided to get creative or crazy in some cases and grabbed Kasumi and held her in a princess carry as he picked up speed. The kunoichi was too surprised to retort or struggle as she involuntarily held on to Neon as he drew out a Glock 17 and emptied the whole clip on the glass window before crashing through it. As they went free falling down, Neon pulled out a grappling hook launcher from his belt and fired it at a building in the distance. After the hook latched on to the edge of the building Neon swung with Kasumi in his other arm to the building just as the explosions leveled the DOATEC Tritower. Neon and Kasumi made a rough landing on the new building ,causing them to roll on the ground for until they both smack onto a wall and in awkward positions. After a few minutes Neon's headset comes on.

_"Neon! Hey! Are you alive?"_

"Yes I am. Just a little dazed." Neon answered.

_"Where are you?"_

"I'm with Kasumi on some building further North from the now demolished Tri-tower."

_"Good. Just hold tight there. Hayabusa's on his way to you guys since he's located where you are."_

"Thanks."

Kasumi recovers and finds herself in a compromising position before getting herself up and glaring at Neon who just looks confused.

"What?" he asked.

**"HENTAI!" **Kasumi screams and she draws her wakizashi and tries to castrate Neon who dodges the attack on his balls.

"It's not my fault! I was too busy seeing stars to do anything like that!"

"LIAR!"

"HEY! I'm not lying!"

"Ehem!" Both Neon and Kasumi looked to the side to see Ryu Hayabusa standing there and tapping his feet in annoyance.

"Are you two done trying to kill yourselves?" Ryu asked.

"She's the one trying to castrate me for no reason!" Neon complained.

"That's because you're a pervert." Kasumi retorted.

"How about you two drop it? Everyone's waiting for you." Ryu sighed.

* * *

**Chapter 15 End.**


	17. Epilogue: Neon's Ending

**Epilogue: Neon's Ending**

* * *

Mako Yashiro woke up groggily and wondering where she was. One moment she was watching a fight between two ultimate beings, the next moment she's here in some abandoned building, on a chair, tied up and in excruciating pain...? Mako suddenly does a double take and looks at herself. She would have screamed already if not for the fact that she was gagged and she was tied up in ninja wire and C4s strapped on her body which has no skin on it. Just muscle and tissue is all she can see.

"Nice of you to wake up Mako." A very familiar voice came. Mako wished she didn't look up but unfortunately for her she did and lo and behold Neon Cross was standing in front of her with his Glock 17.

"I'll get straight to the point. I have waited a long time for this, the day I end your miserable existence. It's only sad that I didn't get to kill your pal Victor Donovan. Bloody coward he is! Oh, and your Bounty Rook is dead."

Mako's eyes went wide much to Neon's amusement. Then a very evil smile came on his face.

"If you wanna know what happened, I'll make it short. I peeled your skin off, shaved your hair off, sliced off your clitoris, tied and gagged you and strapped some C4 to ya."

The hectic mumbling from Mako made it clear that she DID NOT LIKE her current predicament and Neon was enjoying every bit of it.

"Initially I just wanted to give you a quick death and not waste my time with you. However since you've made my life hell I'll do the same with you and take my time with you."

Neon took out a chair and sat in it. He just sat in it and stared at the helpless Mako who tried to struggle out of her binds but was failing spectacularly and feeling more pain. Then he shot her in the leg. Her muffled scream proved that she was in even more pain. Then he shoots her shoulder. More muffled screaming. Then he shoots the other leg. Then her stomach. Her jaw. Her knees.

"Oh quit screaming! You know how to dish it but you can't take it! Pathetic!"

He sat there and watched Mako writhing in agony and thrashing her skinless, bloody body around until he grew bored of watching her and went full auto with the Glock 17 and filled her with lead before he shut her up for good with a final bullet to the head.

"Say hi to the devil for me Mako Yashiro." Neon hissed before he stood up from the chair and began walking out of the building. When he had gotten outside and some good distance away, Neon took out the detonator and pushed it before he continued to walk away as the building exploded into flames and the structure got leveled.

_'Finally. This chapter of my life story is over. I can now focus on living my own life to the fullest. Question though is "What's next?" I intend to figure it out myself.'_

* * *

**The End.**

**AN: Neon's ending if he was EVER a character in the game.**


End file.
